WT/GC/W/934  
 
7 May 2024  
(24-3636) Page: 1/3 
General Council  Original: English  
 
30 YEARS OF WTO: HOW HAS DEVELOPMENT  DIMENSION  
PROGRESSED?  – A WAY FORWARD  
COMMUNICATION FROM INDIA  
The following communication, dated  7 May 2024, is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of India.  
 
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1.  The World Trade Organization (WTO) will complete 30 years of its inception at the end of this 
year. This is an important milestone for this Organization, which was created with the hope and 
ambition of bringing shared global prosperity an d development through trade.  
2.  Development dimension has been at the core of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization (Marrakesh Agreement). The preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement accords 
primacy to the developmental objectives of t his Organization. The first paragraph  recognizes: "trade 
and economic endeavor should be conducted with a view to raising standards of living, ensuring full 
employment and a large and steadily growing volume of real income and effective demand". It also 
recognizes the "importance of expanding the production of and trade in goods and services" . 
3.  In fact, these objectives were key to the Uruguay Round negotiations, that influenced the decision 
of many developing countries in joining this Organization. The WTO as an institution is envisaged to 
be the defender of the rights of the weak and the vulnerable among its Members, and to act as a 
voice for reason and equity in the din of clashing interests. Today, the developing countries, including 
the Least Develop ed Countries (LDCs) constitute more than 3/4th of the WTO Membership. Most of 
them continue to face severe challenges in raising the standard of living of their people and ensuring 
full employment and these challenges are growing.  
4.  As this Organization rea ches a temporal milestone, it is appropriate to reflect on how it has 
supported these lofty ideals and the aspirations of all its Members, while considering their 
development needs and challenges. This anniversary affords us an opportunity to recall the 
objectives stated in the second paragraph of the Marrakesh Agreement, which recognizes the "need 
for positive efforts designed to ensure that developing countries, and especially the least developed 
among them, secure a share in the growth in international t rade commensurate with the needs of 
their economic development" . 
5.  On this occasion, it would be worthwhile to recall the decisions and directions by the Ministers in 
previous Ministerial Conferences regarding the need for action on the development agenda, o n which 
there has been limited success.  
6.  We have had some meaningful discussions on the development dimension in the run up to the 
13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), even though, tangible outcomes have been limited. The 
discussions in the Development Retre at in February 2023, (which were well captured in DDG Zhang 's 
summary of this Retreat and briefly stated in para . 1.13 in document JOB/GC/357 ), India 's paper 
JOB/COMTD/4  reflecting on the same, Africa n Group papers on policy space for industrial 
development (WT/GC/W/868  and others), G90 's 10 agreement specific proposals ( JOB/TN/CTD/2  
and others), Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) Chair 's report on the Senior Officials ' 
Meeting of October 2023 (contained in the document JOB/GC/365 ), and India 's paper 
WT/GC/W/865 , highlight the role CTD can play in these discussions, besides the discussions on 
S&DT, LDC graduation, and LDC preferential access.  WT/GC/W/934  
 
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  7.  At MC13, the Ministers reiterated the c entrality of the development dimension in the work of the 
WTO and recognized that the full integration of developing Members, including LDCs, in the 
multilateral trading system is important for their economic development. They also emphasized the 
need to m ake positive efforts so that the gains from trade benefit them in accordance with the 
Marrakesh Agreement. Further, Ministers while reaffirming the S&DT provisions, have instructed 
officials to continue the work on improving the application of S&DT in the CTD's Special Sessions 
and other relevant venues in the WTO, and report on the progress to the General Council before the 
14th Ministerial Conference (MC14). Also, Ministers have emphasized prioritizing the work on issues 
of interest to the LDCs for securi ng their meaningful integration in the multilateral trading system, 
smooth and sustainable transition for LDCs on their graduation, Aid for Trade Initiative , Work 
Programme on Small Economies (SEs), technology transfer and focused session on trade -related 
challenges of landlocked developing countries (LLDC) in CTD.  
8.  Overall, there is substantial unfinished development agenda emanating from the MC13 Abu Dhabi 
Ministerial Declaration. We seek to strengthen the discussions and debate on the issue of 
development in the working of all regular bodies of this Organization. W e wish that the momentum 
on development discussions continues in a focused and structured way, and we make concerted 
efforts to comply with the Ministers ' decisions and directions on the core area of our work. We, 
therefore, need to commit to reinvigoratin g discussions on the development dimension for tangible 
progress and meaningful outcomes for the WTO to be seen as fit for purpose.  
9.  We presented some of the initial ideas in our statement in the unofficial room document 
RD/GC/30 , dated 20 March 2024, in the last General Council meeting held on 21 March 2024 
(highlighted in the Annex ). We had a good discussion in the said meeting, wherein Members 
reiterated the need of reinvigorating the work on the development agenda, including p rioritizing, 
introspecting, and objectively assessing the development work. Members also highlighted the 
development deficit and the unfinished work in the agenda.  
10.   Guiding Questions : 
1. How could the discussions be better structured and taken forward in WTO on development 
issues?  
2. Ministers have provided significant direction on development issues in MC13. The 
development agenda is also pending from the previous Ministerial Conferences. Considering 
this: 
a. How could the General Council provide impetus to furthe r the discussions on the 
unfinished development agenda?  
b. What roadmap could the General Council provide to navigate the impasse on the 
development agenda?  
c. What role could the General Council play in agenda setting and prescribing modalities 
in respective WT O bodies for timebound discussions on each of the issues relating to 
development agenda on which Ministers have provided direction in MC13.  
3. What is expected of the Committee on Trade and Development in terms of the action it 
should take in discharge of its  obligation as focal point on development dimension in WTO 
and other deliverables on its Terms of Reference?  
4. Development dimension is cross cutting and is at the core of the WTO. What instruction 
could the General Council issue for a stock take of developm ent agenda in the last 30 years?   
5. Does a stocktaking exercise need to be initiated on how flexibilities in WTO Agreements 
have contributed to development? If so, what could be the relevant parameters?  
6. What steps can be taken to reinvigorate the work at di fferent WTO bodies, including the 
Committee on Balance -of-Payments Restrictions ; Working Group on Trade, Debt and 
Finance ; and the Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology ; to further the 
development agenda?  
  WT/GC/W/934  
 
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  ANNEX  
Some initial ideas as contained  in the document RD/GC/30 : 
 
● We envisage this as a collective effort, where Members bring in proposals and papers, 
which build upon the centrality of the development dimension.  
● WTO bodies which hold thematic sessions should devote at least one session in 2024 to 
addressing developme ntal needs and concerns.  
● They should also devote at least one session to zooming in further and discussing specific 
needs of LDCs, LLDCs and Small Island Development States.  
● WTO bodies which do not hold thematic sessions currently can begin doing so this y ear for 
a discussion on developmental concerns.  
● WTO bodies which are underutilized – for example, the Working Group on Trade and 
Transfer of Technology  and the Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance should be 
reinvigorated, bringing in greater coherence with relevant intergovernmental 
organizations.  
● Cross -cutting, real -life trade issues which impact the developing countries 
disproportionately like:  
o access to finance including trade finance,  
o access to technology,  
o bridging digital divide,  
o enhancing effective aid for trade that is effective, demand driven, untied, and has 
recipient ownership,  
o flexibilities needed by the developing countries for industrialization,  
o food security,  
o issues holding back digital development such as competition,  
o manufacturing  concentration,  
o reducing transaction costs in international trade and services,  
o supply chain resilience;  
should be prioritized for discussions in various WTO bodies based on Members ' submissions 
and proposals.  
● Dedicated discussion should be conducted in the CTD on how its functioning, which should 
include designing a new triennial review process to improve the functioning of the 
committee in line with the objectives of the Marrakesh Agreement.  
● As the WTO completes its 30th year, the CTD can p ublish a stocktaking report on not just 
what has been achieved so far, but also the gaps, which Members believe are holding up 
its progress. The CTD should also prepare a way forward for taking up development 
dimension starting from the WTO Informal Retrea t on Development.  
 
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