KTFA: ARAB PERSPECTIVES ON WTO ACCESSIONS AND THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM, 23 FEB

 KTFA:

ACCESSIONS

12th China Round Table on WTO Accessions

ARAB PERSPECTIVES ON WTO ACCESSIONS AND THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM

 Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Hall 10, Room B - In-Person

23 FEB 2024  24 FEB 2024

The 12th China Round Table (CRT-12) will take place on 24-25 February 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on the margins of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13). This is the first Round Table organized in the Arab region. The focus of this Round Table will be Arab Perspectives on WTO Accessions and the Multilateral Trading System.

The Arab region is one of the most under-represented in the WTO. Of the 22 members of the Arab League, only 13 are WTO Members and nine are observers of different types. Out of the 13 Members, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Yemen joined the WTO through the accession process pursuant to Article XII of the Agreement Establishing the WTO (the Marrakesh Agreement) between 2000 and 2014. 

Today, Algeria, Comoros, Iraq, Lebanese Republic, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic are in the process of Article XII accession , while Palestine has had an ad hoc observer status in the WTO Ministerial Conferences since 2005

 The eight Arab acceding governments have been pursuing accession, on average, for approximately 20 years, with some of the accession processes being inactive for a long time. Together with Timor‑Leste, Comoros is a candidate to join the WTO at MC13. 

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala highlighted during the 2nd High-Level Regional Dialogue on WTO Accessions for the Arab Region: "With several Arab acceding governments expected to step up engagement at the WTO this year, especially in the case of Comoros, we should step up our joint efforts to support them. 

One potentially useful point of action could be to put together a study detailing the accession and post-accession experiences of Article XII members from the region.

This could serve as a guide for Arab countries working to revive their accession negotiations and would yield insights for how best the international community could support Arab accessions or Arab countries' participation in the WTO more generally." Commenting on the Trade for Peace programme, the Director-General noted that "The Trade for Peace agenda has brought to light how reforms associated with the WTO accession process can help Arab countries build resilience and foster prosperity, peace and stability."

OPENING

Opening Ceremony
09:30-10:00

 Abu Dhabi

Moderator

Ms. Maika Oshikawa

Director, Accessions Division, World Trade Organization

Opening remarks

H.E. Mr. Juma Al Kait

Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade Affairs, Ministry of Economy, United Arab Emirates

Opening remarks

H.E. Ambassador LI Chenggang

Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the World Trade Organization

Opening remarks

Mr. ZHANG Xiangchen

Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization

SESSION 1: Best Practices in WTO Accessions for Arab Region: Lessons from Past and On-going accessions in the region
10:30-12:30

 Abu Dhabi

"Best Practices in WTO Accessions for Arab Countries: Lessons from Past and On-going Accessions" is a joint study with the collaboration of four partner organizations (WTO, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Center for Development of Trade). The study aims at providing factual accounts of past and on-going Arab accessions, as well as the post-accession performance of Article XII Arab Members, including their participation in the WTO. This session will present the main findings and r ecommendations of the Joint Arab Study for WTO Accessions. This will be followed by an open discussion among participants.