OIC trade officials preparing for next WTO talks<\/p>\n
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Trade officials from the Organization of the Islamic
\nConference (OIC) member countries started gathering here on
\nMonday for a three-week course on global trade policy and the
\nmultilateral trading system.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Finance's secretary-general, Agus Haryanto,
\nsaid that the course was meant to equip the participants with
\nsufficient knowledge about the issues so that would be better
\nprepared to face the next series of World Trade Organization
\n(WTO) negotiations.<\/p>\n
\"A lack of knowledge about global trade policy is responsible
\nfor much of the inability of developing countries to make their
\ncase forcefully,\" said Agus in his speech during the course's
\nopening ceremony.<\/p>\n
The three-week course is being organized by the Islamic
\nDevelopment Bank (IDB) in collaboration with the WTO, the
\ngovernment of Indonesia and the Non-Aligned Movement Centre for
\nSouth-South Technical Cooperation (NAM CSSTC).<\/p>\n
Aside from Indonesia, which is a member of the OIC, the 32
\ntrade officials participating in the course come from 21 other
\nOIC member countries -- Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan,
\nBangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Gambia, Guyana, Iran, Kazakhstan,
\nKyrgistan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan,
\nSierra Leone, Suriname, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda and
\nUzbekistan. The OIC has 57 member countries.<\/p>\n
The course will cover all topics concerning the WTO, including
\nbasic principles of the multilateral trading system, market
\naccess, trade facilitation, agriculture, anti-distortion
\nmeasures, dispute settlement, accession to the WTO, Trade Related
\nIntellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreements, government
\nprocurement and competition policy.<\/p>\n
All those delivering the course are from the Geneva-based WTO
\nsecretariat.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' director for multilateral
\ntrade and industry, Mohamad Oemar, said that the course was
\nimportant as the OIC members were generally developing and least
\ndeveloped countries.<\/p>\n
\"The course also provides technical assistance for countries
\nplanning to join the WTO,\" he said, adding that some OIC member
\ncountries were not yet members of the WTO.<\/p>\n
An economic research and statistics division counselor from
\nthe WTO, Bijit Bora, stressed that developing countries needed a
\n\"greater\" voice to ensure that their interests were accommodated
\nin WTO negotiations.<\/p>\n
\"In order to gain that greater voice, we need to have a
\nstronger base. In that context, the WTO provides a broad range of
\ntechnical assistance,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Since the establishment of the organization, the developed
\ncountries played a dominant role in the WTO talks until the 2003
\nsummit in Cancun, Mexico, where several developing countries,
\nincluding India, China, Brazil and Indonesia, managed to resist
\npressure from developed countries to accept their agenda. The
\nmeeting ended in deadlock.<\/p>\n
During the WTO general council session in Geneva last July,
\ndeveloping countries managed to get the developed countries to
\naccommodate some of their interests.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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