Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, has been chosen as the chair of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi in February.
The announcement was made during the WTO general council in Geneva, where Dr. Al Zeyoudi held a meeting with the WTO director general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Representatives from the 164 countries and customs blocs that constitute the WTO will be attending the conference. Its agenda includes evaluating the performance of the trading system, making decisions regarding future initiatives, and establishing a roadmap for the subsequent conference, according to an official statement released on Monday.
“This is a pivotal moment for world trade … we have to tackle pressing issues and challenges, consider all the forces shaping the future of trade and come up with clear solutions, and challenge ourselves to take actionable decisions that move the needle on making trade more efficient, inclusive and sustainable,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
“This is a pivotal moment for world trade … we have to tackle pressing issues and challenges, consider all the forces shaping the future of trade and come up with clear solutions, and challenge ourselves to take actionable decisions that move the needle on making trade more efficient, inclusive and sustainable,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi made his inaugural speech as the chair during the WTO general council, stressing the significance of establishing robust trade frameworks.
Additionally, international trade is set to receive special attention at the Cop28 summit in Dubai, scheduled for later this year. This summit will include a dedicated day focused on trade, marking a first for any climate summit, as part of the UAE’s Cop28 presidency.
The specific focus of this day will be to highlight trade’s role in facilitating climate-conscious growth, including promoting supply-chain resilience, as stated by the Ministry of Economy last week.
Amid the UAE’s efforts to diversify its economy, the country’s non-oil foreign trade saw a notable increase of 17 per cent, reaching a record AED 2.23T ($607.1B) last year.
Furthermore, as the second-largest economy in the Arab world, the UAE is actively pursuing new agreements with various countries worldwide through Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements.
