WT/GC/236  
 
2 November 2021  
(21-8306) Page: 1/4 
General Council  Original: English  
 
 
COMMUNIQUÉ  
ARAB TRADE MINISTERIAL MEETING  
RIYADH, 31 OCTOBER 2021  
The following communication, dated 1 November  2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . 
 
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1. We, the Trade Ministers and Heads of Delegations of the Arab countries, have met virtually 
on 31 October 2021, to discuss a number of common issue s for the group in preparation for 
the Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12), which will be held from 30 November – 
3 December  2021 in Geneva/Switzerland. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Dr. Majid Al 
Qasabi, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 's Minister of Co mmerce.  
2. We welcome  Her Excellency Dr. Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala, Director -General of the World Trade 
Organization to this meeting to interact and listen to the views and concerns of the Arab 
countries in light of the most urgent challenges facing humanity today , represented by the 
COVID -19 pandemic,   and in moving forward towards the Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference 
(MC12).  
3. We reaffirm  the principles and objectives set out in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing 
the WTO, and commit to strengthen the rule -based  multilateral trading system. We also recall 
the Declarations and Decisions adopted at the previous WTO Ministerial Conferences that have 
held since then and reaffirm our full commitment to give effect to them. In this regard, we 
reiterate our commitment t o the Doha Development Agenda, as well as to the regular work of 
the WTO.  
4. We are firm  to collaborate to ensure that MC12 is successful and delivers fair, meaningful 
and tangible outcomes for the entire membership and to further enhance the role of the WTO  
in establishing rules that support a free, fair, stable, inclusive, non -discriminatory, 
transparent, and open trade and investment environment.  
5. We affirm  our commitment for active participation in MC12, to ensure its success and to 
reach meaningful outcom es that will serve the special needs of Developing and Least 
Developed Members, including those of the Arab countries.  
6. We emphasize  the importance of the WTO for enhancing the rules -based multilateral trading 
system, and the significant role it plays towar ds the establishment of an inclusive and dynamic 
trade environment that could serve development and global economic growth.  
7. We realize  the need to meet the existing and future challenges caused by the COVID -19 
pandemic, globalization and technological progress, and we stress the need to address these 
challenges through developing dynamic policies that support innovation, long term invest ment 
and inclusive growth.  
8. We are aware  of the significant role that trade can play in tackling the impacts of the 
COVID -19 pandemic and in enabling strong global economy recovery. As members move 
towards MC12, it would be of utmost important to reflect on the role of the WTO in contributing 
to a global response in combatting COVID -19 and in promoting inclusivity, economic recovery 
and resilience.  WT/GC/236  
 
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  9. We realize  that the economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating, 
and that th e WTO has a significant role to play in managing recovery from the impact of the 
pandemic. We welcome the proposal for a temporary waiver of certain TRIPS obligations in 
response to COVID -19 and other initiatives aimed at ensuring supply chains for critica l medical 
supplies and equitable access to vaccines as well as creating favorable conditions for a stable, 
predictable and transparent trade environment for critical goods.  
10. We stress  the need at this critical juncture, more than ever, to strengthen the glo bal 
cooperation and coordination to overcome the consequences of the pandemic and to restore 
the credibility of the WTO and the multilateral trading system . 
11. We emphasize  the importance of equitable worldwide access to COVID -19 vaccines, and we 
urge countri es to cooperate and avoid the temptation of "vaccine nationalism, " as the health 
of people and the economy will not be safe until everyone, has access to the vaccines and 
tools necessary to eradicate this pandemic.  
12. We commend  all recent calls and initiati ves launched among international organizations 
including the WTO to enhance their support to Members combatting COVID -19 and help them 
build resilience to similar future crises.  
13. We recognize  the divergences among WTO Members on substantive issues, while 
appreciating the significance of the work achieved since the initiation of the negotiations. We 
urge Members to intensify their efforts to reach meaningful outcomes at MC12 and articulate 
the way forward for future work.  
14. We welcome  the continued commitment of Members to conclude the fisheries subsidies 
negotiations no later than MC12 to fulfil the mandate under SDG 14.6 and that of the WTO for 
those negotiations. We emphasize that, fisheries negotiations should take into account the 
provisions of special and  differential treatment (SDT) with a view to reach a balanced and 
mutually acceptable outcome by MC12, that contribute to poverty eradication, livelihood and 
food security concerns and serve developments priorities.  
15. We stress  the importance of reaching an effective solution to address the imbalance in the 
Agreement on Agriculture and the food security needs of Developing  and Least Developed 
Members. We also emphasize the need for addressing all outstanding issues in Agriculture 
negotiations, particularly th ose of critical importance to Developing and Least Developed 
Members, such as Trade -Distorting Domestic Support, Public Stockholding for Food Security 
Purposes (PSH), and the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM).  
16. We recognize  the difficulties that Net -Food I mporting Developing Countries (NFIDCs) and 
LDCs continue to face since the Uruguay Round, and we stress on the importance of according 
specific measures and flexibilities to NFIDCs in all agriculture negotiations, to address their 
food security challenges aggravated by the COVID -19 Pandemic.  
17. We reaffirm  the centrality of the development dimension to the multilateral trading system. 
The system must be responsive to the needs and realities of Developing and Least Developed 
Members.  
18. We underscore  the importan ce of Special and Differential Treatment (S&D) provisions in the 
WTO agreements, and agree that all S&D provisions have to be reviewed with a view towards 
strengthening them and making them more precise, effective, and operational.  
19. We acknowledge the oppor tunities and challenges of the global electronic commerce and its 
huge impact on economic growth and sustainable development. Therefore, we confirm  the 
need to continue and re -invigorate our future work based on the work program of 1998 and 
to maintain the  current practice of extending the moratorium on electronic commerce, with 
particular emphasis on addressing the digital divide, especially after COVID -19. 
20. We recognize  the important contribution of Small and Medium -Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to 
economic gro wth and well -being, and in particular the contribution of start -ups and young WT/GC/236  
 
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  firms to job creation and innovation. Also, we recognize  the specific opportunities and 
challenges of globalization and digitalization for the development of these firms.  
21. We ack nowledge  that accession to the WTO is a crucial step for countries striving for 
development and integration into world trade. Therefore, we call upon all WTO members to 
facilitate and accelerate the accession of Developing and Least Developed Countries inc luding 
Arab Countries and extend all possible assistance for a smooth and successful accession 
process.  
22. We emphasize  the importance of technical assistance and capacity building in enabling 
Developing and Least Developed Members to engage effectively in t he multilateral trading 
system and the global economy.  
23. We underline  the importance of cooperation between the WTO and other International 
Financial Organizations towards effective implementation of the Aid for Trade initiative. In this 
regard, we commend the Aid for Trade Initiative for Arab States (AfTIAS) provided by the  the 
International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation  (ITFC)  and stress the need for continued 
support to this important initiative as a tool to serve trade in Arab countries and enable them 
to engage in the global economy.  
24. We believe  that, an active engagement, a strong political will and a full understanding of t he 
scope and elements of the WTO proposed reform are required to advance the reform process.  
In this regard, the group recognizes the contribution that the Riyadh Initiative on the Future 
of the WTO has made by providing an additional opportunity to discus s and reaffirm the 
objectives and foundational principles of the Multilateral Trading System and to demonstrate 
ongoing political support for WTO reform discussions. In light of this, we believe that the 
Riyadh Initiative could form a good basis for furthe r discussion among the entire membership 
towards the necessary reform of the WTO.  
25. We recognize  that any proposal for reforming the global trade regime needs to preserve the 
core values of the WTO, strengthen the Multilateral Trading System, safeguard devel opment 
concerns, and enhance progress for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  
26. We underscore  the importance of a well -functioning Dispute Settlement   System. We 
therefore encourage all Members to redouble their efforts to find ways to restore a nd improve 
the functioning of this system, without delaying a solution to the prolonged Appellate Body 
Crisis.  
27. We take note of the ongoing discussions on Joint Statement Initiatives ' (JSIs) including E -
commerce, Domestic Regulations, Investment Facilitatio n for Development and Micro, 
Small  and Medium -Sized Enterprises  (MSMEs), and we acknowledge the participation of some 
Arab Group Members in these ongoing discussion s.  
28. We recognize  the extensive commitments made by Article XII Members during their 
respecti ve accessions, and the need to give full recognition and proper consideration to their 
special situation in the negotiations.  
29. We reaffirm the support to the Arab League request for observer status in the Ministerial 
Conferences, councils, bodies and commit tees of the World Trade Organization.  
30. We believe  that, there is a real need to ensure that any request by an Intergovernmental 
Organization (IGO) to acquire a permanent and/or ad hoc Observer Status in the WTO should 
be based on the technical merits of suc h request. We also believe that all Intergovernmental 
Organizations (IGOs) should be treated on an equal footing, and that the process of 
considering their participation in Ministerial Conferences should remain technical, transparent 
and objective, as well  as the screening process shall be undertaken on the basis of Annex III 
of the rules of procedure of the Ministerial Conference.  
31. We reconfirm the need to consider a set of revised objective guidelines for granting observer 
status to all International Gove rnmental Organizations (IGOs) in the WTO, as well as in the WT/GC/236  
 
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  Ministerial Conferences. We stress the importance of adopting such guidelines as soon as 
possible to allow for a more conclusive engagement of IGOs in all WTO activities.  
32. We assert  our continued a nd unwavering support for the State of Palestine 's request for 
observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies. While being mindful of the 
fact that the Government of Palestine practices trade regulations in all areas covered by WTO 
law. M embers are encouraged to provide a favorable consideration to Palestine 's request for 
observer status at the General Council. In order to enhance the inclusive nature of the WTO, 
we are of the view that request for observer status cannot be denied on the b asis of political 
considerations.  
33. We reiterate  the importance of recognizing the Arabic language as one of the official working 
languages in the WTO, as it is the case in the United Nations Organizations. Arabic is one of 
the most spoken native languages i n the world; accordingly, the recognition of Arabic as a 
WTO working language would facilitate active participation and enhance integration of Arab 
States in the multilateral trading system.  
34. We express  our sincere appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting this meeting 
and for the excellent preparations undertaken for the successful deliberations and positive 
conclusion.  
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