Organized jointly by the
Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament
1. Background
The Parliamentary Conference on the WTO
is a joint undertaking of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European
Parliament. Its primary objective is to enhance the external transparency of
the WTO and make it accountable to legislators as elected representatives of
the people. The sessions of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO are held
once a year and on the occasion of WTO Ministerial Conferences.
The Steering Committee of the
Parliamentary Conference on the WTO is responsible for all matters relating to
the organization of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO.
2. Agenda
The Steering Committee of the
Parliamentary Conference on the WTO met on June 24 and 25, 2010, at IPU
Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The session included the following agenda
items:
·Presentation on recent WTO developments with Mr.
Harsha Vardhana Singh, Deputy Director-General of the WTO;
·Presentation and discussion about the WTO
Aid-for-Trade campaign;
·Presentation and discussion on the successful
settlement of the banana dispute;
·Preparations for the WTO public forum 2010; and
·Suggestions for the Parliamentary Conference on
the WTO in 2010 and beyond.
3. The Canadian delegation
The Steering Committee of the
Parliamentary Conference on the WTO is composed of representatives of the
following parliaments and international organizations: Belgium, Burkina Faso,
Canada, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Iran (Islamic Republic
of), Japan, Kenya, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa,
Thailand, Uruguay, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay,
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, European Parliament,
Inter-Parliamentary Union, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and
the World Trade Organization.
The Steering Committee meeting welcomed
32 participants from 16 national parliaments and regional parliamentary
assemblies. The Honourable Mac Harb, Senator, on behalf of the Honourable
Donald H. Oliver, Senator, Q.C., was Canada’s representative at this meeting.
4.
The meeting
The discussions are summarized in the
attached appendices, which include:
·a summary of the presentations to the Steering
Committee,
·a summary of the decisions, and
·the final statement taken by the Steering
Committee.