RESTRICTED  
  
WT/GC/M/185  
 
31 August 2020  
(20-5924) Page: 1/98 
General Council  
15-17 July 2020    
 
MINUTES OF MEETING  
HELD IN THE CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD  AND IN VIRTUAL FORMAT  ON 15-17 JULY 2020 
Chairperson: H.E. Dr. David Walker (New Zealand)  
1  APPOINTMENT OF THE NEXT DIRECTOR -GENERAL  – MEETING WITH THE CANDIDATES1 
1.1.  The Chair man said that it was the first time that the General Council met in person since the 
outbreak of COVID -19 and he extended a warm welcome to the representatives and colleagues that 
were present in the room that day as well as to all those that were connected through  the virtual 
platform. It was a real pleasure to see them all. He hoped they were all well and healthy.  
1.2.  The meeting of the General Council had been convened in accordance with the Procedures for 
the Appointment of Directors -General in WT/L/509, and its pur pose was to enable Members to meet 
formally with the eight candidates that had been nominated for the post of the next Director -General. 
The nomination period had closed on 8 July and a consolidated list of candidates had been circulated 
on 9 July.  The eig ht candidates that had been nominated were: Dr. Jesus Seade Kuri (Mexico) , 
Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala (Nigeria), Mr. Abdel -Hamid Mamdouh (Egypt), Ambassador Tudor 
Ulianovschi (Republic of Moldova), H.E. Yoo Myung -hee (Republic of Korea), Ambassador Ami na C. 
Mohamed (Republic of Kenya), Mr. Mohammad Maziad Al -Tuwaijri (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and 
Dr. Liam Fox (United Kingdom).  
1.3.  He recalled that, on 1 July and on 10 July, he had sent communications to all Members setting 
out the modalities for the conduct  of the meeting. Those modalities were the same as those applied 
in the DG appointment processes of Directors -General in 2005 and in 2013, when Members also had 
had multiple candidates – with some necessary adjustments related to the remote participation o f 
delegations.  He highlighted a few important points of those modalities which would apply throughout 
the two and a half days of the meeting. The scheduled meeting time for each candidate had been 
indicated in his communication of 10 July. The candidates w ould appear before the General Council 
in the order in which their nominations had been received . 
1.4.   He intend ed to start all the sessions of th e General Council meeting strictly on time. He would 
therefore request all the representatives attending in person to be seated ten minutes before each 
meeting was scheduled to start. He would also ask that all delegations that participate d remotely to 
be connected well ahead of the scheduled time.  That was an extremely important aspect of th e 
meeting . Members  should  ensure equal treatment for all candidates, and that the whole meeting r an 
smoothly. He very much count ed on their cooperation in th at respect.  
1.5.  All eight candidates were present in Geneva,  and they w ould make their interventions in person 
from th e Council  Room. He was certain he spoke on behalf of all delegations in expressing great 
appreciation for their efforts and commitment to travel to Geneva to meet with the General Council 
in person.  Each candidate w ould be invited to make a brief presentation lasting no more than fifteen  
minutes. Th at would be followed by a question -and-answer period of no more than one hour and 
fifteen minutes. During the last five minutes of the question -and-answer  period, each candidate 
would have the opportunity to make a concluding statement if she or he so wishe d. 
 
1 The Airgram convening this meeting can be found in document WTO/AIR/GC/ 30. WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  1.6.  The names of speakers for each question -and-answer period w ould be drawn at random from 
a box at the podium containing the names of all delegations wh o had indicated their wish to put a 
question to the candidate concerned. Eight boxes, one for each candidate, had been  made available 
on 14 July  to Members wishing to put questions to one or more candidates. Members had had the 
possibility to come physical ly to the WTO to include their names in the boxes or to indicate it by 
email if they so wished – and their requests ha d been duly recorded by the Secretariat . In order to 
make the fairest possible use of the time available, each Member whose name was drawn from the 
box w ould be allowed to ask one question only, with no follow -up questions allowed. Th at would be 
followed by a response from the candidate followed by the drawing of the next speaker.  
1.7.  For those delegations participating remotely, or wishing  to ask the question remotely, if their 
name was drawn and if their delegation was called, they should click on the "Raise Hand" green 
button on the top of their screen. Once the Secretariat would see that , a message w ould pop up on 
their screen – they sho uld click on "V ideo". After a couple of seconds, they would  be streamed and 
then they could  ask their question.  Whether participating in person or remotely, questions should 
last no more than one minute. Other than questions, there should be no statements from 
delegations. He intend ed to exercise strict discipline with respect to time management and he would 
interrupt speakers after one minute. He would also urge Members to assist the process by not asking 
questions that could  have already been asked. He counted on their cooperation so that th e exercise 
could proceed smoothly.  
1.8.  If the number of speakers was exhausted before the one -hour and fifteen minutes time limit, 
he would ask if any additional delegations wish ed to put questions, giving priority to those  who ha d 
not previously spoken. If, at the end of the time limit for the question -and-answer session, there 
were unfulfilled requests to put questions, he would indicate to each candidate the number of 
Members remaining on the list of potential speakers.  He would briefly recall th ose modalities with 
each candidate with exactly the same introductory words.  Each candidate w ould have the 
opportunity to meet with the Press in the WTO building immediately following her or his meeting 
with Members in the General Council. The press conference w ould be broadcast ed live on the WTO 
website.  
1.9.  Following the Chairman's introductory remarks, Members in the General Council met with the 
candidates  based in in the order in which their nominations had been received:  
15 July  
 11:15 – 12:45  Dr. Jesus Seade Kuri (Mexico)  
 15:00 – 16:30  Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala (Nigeria)   
 16:30 – 18:00  Mr. Abdel -Hamid Mamdouh (Egypt)  
 
 16 July  
 11:00 – 12:30  Ambassador Tudor Ulianovschi  (Republic of Moldova)  
 15:00 – 16:30  H.E. Yoo Myung -hee (Republic of Korea)  
 16:30 – 18:00  Ambassador Amina C . Mohamed (Republic of Kenya)  
 
 17 July  
 10:00 – 11:30  Mr. Mohammad Maziad Al -Tuwaijri  (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)  
 11:30 – 13:00  Dr. Liam Fox (Unit ed Kingdom)  
 
1.10.   The presentations made  by each candidate2, as well as the questions and answers at each 
session , are recorded in Annexes 1 to 8 of this document . 
1.11.   In concluding the meeting on 17 July, t he Chairman  thanked all delegations for their 
participation in the meeting of the General Council to meet the candidates for the post of WTO 
Director -General. He was very grateful for their constructive cooperation which had allowed the 
meeting to run smoothly throug hout the two and a half days. As he had noted at the end of each 
session, there had been several delegations who had wished to ask questions to the candidates and 
that had not had a chance to do so because their name had not been drawn. Each box had contai ned 
 
2 The candidates' presentations were subsequently issued in documents JOB/GC/233, JOB/GC/234, 
JOB/GC/235, JOB/GC/236, JOB/GC/237, JOB/GC/238, JOB/GC/239 and JOB/GC/240.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  more than 50 names, reflecting the interest that Members placed in the exercise and it had been 
obviously not possible to cover all the questions in the allocated 75 minutes for each Q&A session.  
1.12.   The system, which had been based on past practice, had b een designed to make the best and 
fairest possible use of the limited time for each session with the candidates. Delegations could wish 
to approach the candidates directly or through their respective Missions in those two months of 
Phase Two of the process  which would last until 7 September. That was precisely the objective of 
Phase Two as had been foreseen in the Procedures. That Phase was the opportunity for the 
candidates to "make themselves known to Members and to engage in discussions on pertinent issu es 
facing the organization". He encouraged all Members to make good use of that Phase and to continue 
to engage with the candidates after that General Council meeting.  
 
_______________  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  ANNEX 1  
Meeting with Mr. Jesus Seade Kuri  (Mexico)  
1. Presen tation by the Candidate1 
Mr Chairman,  
 
I would like to thank you and all the delegations for this opportunity to share my vision and 
commitment with the Word Trade Organization and present the reasons for my candidature for the 
position of WTO Director -General.  
 
With your permissi on, I shall use the Organization's three official languages.  
 
Presenting my candidature to you is not only a huge honour, but also an especially emotional 
moment for me. I had the privilege of participating extensively in the complex and ambitious creation 
of the WTO,  
 
− as a negotiator for my country;  
− as a member of the successful facilitating  team that, with Peter Sutherland, managed to  
salvage negotiations that were at a complete standstill; and finally  
− as Deputy Director -General of the fledgling W TO. 
These were the founding moments of this noble institution – moments of firm belief and of shared 
vision and keen determination as to how the WTO would contribute to both world governance and 
the development of many of the world's regions.  
 
Much has cer tainly been achieved. The GATT, and subsequently the WTO, have played a central role 
in trade liberalization and in the establishment of rules, disciplines and understandings that have, 
over the course of three quarters of a century, enabled us to make sig nificant progress in terms of 
global trade and the economic development of our peoples.  
 
Looking to more recent times, the 2008 financial crisis, and now the economic scourge of COVID -19, 
have shown the multilateral trading framework to be a valuable stabi lizing force. And even in the 
negotiations, the value of the results achieved in the areas of agricultural export subsidies and trade 
facilitation must be recognized.  
 
Nevertheless, as Deputy Director -General, I experienced first -hand the high expectations  that 
existed for the WTO, and it cannot be denied that the Organization's performance has fallen 
somewhat short.  
 
To say that the Organization is going through a crisis is a big understatement . Its credibility has 
been undermined by limited results in the negotiating pillar, which has always been at the heart of 
the system. And this lack of results has been compounded by the paralysis of the Appellate Body.  
 
To add to this double internal crisis at the WTO, and on top of the very sad loss of human life we 
have recently experienced, the whole world is now having to address the severely negative impact 
of COVID -19 on trade, which, according to the WTO, may fall by a third this year . And we should 
not forget that even before the pandemic, international trad e contracted for the first time in 
11 years , reflecting to a large extent the serious trade frictions between its leading players.  
 
For all of these reasons, extraordinary efforts are urgently required from all Members to restore and 
maintain the relevance  of the WTO as the central pillar of a strong and inclusive system that is able 
to meet the needs of our populations, businesses and consumers, including in terms of development.  
 
The WTO has been compared to a bicycle that toppled over because it stopped moving forward – a 
bicycle that fell over and broke. It now needs to be properly repaired, and this requires the 
leadership of a senior mechanic, a director who, as a chief negotiator and later Deputy 
 
1 The presentation is also circulated i n document JOB/GC/233.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  Director -General, played a key role in designing and en suring the functioning of the 
apparatus in question.  
 
If we are to repair the bicycle, negotiations must properly resume as a matter of urgency, and must 
cover not only issues already under negotiation, but also a balanced agenda of both 21st century 
issues and outstanding traditional issues, with all Members participating in this effort. It is also vital 
that the strength and certainty of the dispute settlement mechanism be restored. And lastly, 
discussions must begin to make the WTO more effective, transp arent and inclusive.  
 
In view of these challenges, if I have the honour of being appointed Director -General, I would, from 
the outset, embark upon the following plan of action:  
 
1. In the first one  hundred days: I would work closely with Members to  
i. reach an agreement on fisheries subsidies;  
ii. reinstate the dispute settlement system's body of second instance; and  
iii. take proper steps to meet with political, business and opinion leaders, so as to 
rapidly put an end to the indifference and pessimism that reign regard ing our 
great institution;  
and naturally,  
iv. I would immediately begin working with Members to address the COVID crisis; 
the WTO must redouble its efforts to ensure Members know about measures that 
have been introduced in response to the pandemic and about th e lifting of such 
measures. We must also find mechanisms that will help the countries most 
affected by the crisis to reintegrate themselves into international trade.  
 
2. Second phase – Working towards MC12: While we are aware that no date has yet 
been set for MC12, it is important that we seek concrete outcomes between now and 
June 2021, both within the framework of joint initiatives and regarding issues that aim to 
ensure a more transparent and effective WTO. And, very importantly, we should at the 
very le ast establish a work programme at MC12 and resume discussions  on issues in 
respect of which negotiations have been suspended.  
 
3. Lastly, in the medium and long term , mechanisms must be introduced to modernize 
the Organization so as to prevent it from becomin g obsolete and outmoded. I would seek 
to establish an informal dialogue on the Organization's weaknesses and the challenges it 
currently faces, through yearly forums or specialized meetings.  
 
When I think about long -term expectations, however, I am convinc ed that they have 
been affected by the lack of meaningful results in the negotiations since the WTO was 
founded. Therefore, while we need to achieve results regarding 21st century issues, it is 
also very important to ensure that renewed energy is put into addressing traditional 
priority issues that form part of the sustainable development agenda.  
 
4. I am also well aware of the efficiency and professionalism of the Secretariat staff. 
However, in all the seniors positions I have held, at both the WTO and the IM F, and as 
Vice-President of a large university in Hong Kong, China, I was always responsible for 
human resources. As Director -General, I would actively seek a balance between obtaining 
the greatest added value in the face of budgetary contributions from Me mbers, and 
guaranteeing the presence of a highly qualified team committed to the success of the 
Organization and at the service of its Members.  
 
5. Lastly , society demands that certain issues be included in our agenda – 
environment -related concerns, for instance; I will be in close contact with Members to 
ensure that these issues are incorporated into our work, as has already occurred with the 
trade and gen der initiative.  
 
Then, why me?  
 
It has been said, and I concur, that the WTO requires a Director General with vision, leadership and 
political capacity. I could not agree more. Nonetheless, I am also fully convinced that, with the WTO 
in crisis mode, and f or a DG more involved  as some Members may wish to have at this point in 
time, it is of the essence  that the DG has a solid command of the arcane  world of the WTO and WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  trade negotiations; that he or she be aware and be sensitive to the reasons behind certain  balances 
in the texts, and in command of the alternatives that may have been formulated or could be 
explored. In the absence of this fundamental sure -footedness on the WTO's inner workings, at the 
first serious discussion among senior trade negotiators, t he new DG will quickly be marginalized and 
sidelined.  
 
In this connection, please allow me to highlight the triple and perhaps unique participation  I had in 
the creation of the WTO, as its:  
 
(i) Influential GATT Ambassador for Mexico and Chief Negotiator f or the Uruguay Round;  
(ii) GATT  Deputy Director General in the team called in to rescue the negotiations that were 
all but collapsed; and finally,  
(iii) Founding  Deputy Director General of the WTO.  
 
And I should mention two other central stages in my caree r that I had very much in preparation for 
this DG position, as:  
 
 (iv) Senior Advisor at the International Monetary Fund where,  
  (a) I led and negotiated the write -offs of some 80% of the external debt of fifteen 
African countries ; and  
 
  (b) also leading the work in support of three major countries in serious financial crises 
– Argentina, Brazil and Turkey, as well as extensive technical assistance to all 
developing regions.  
 
These massive debt write -offs and giant financial support exercises were very challenging 
training exercises in top -level negotiations. Likewise, I more recently played the role of  
 
Chief Negotiator of the Mexico -U.S.-Canada trade agreement  that replaced the old NAFTA 
two weeks ago today, where under very difficult circumstance s we achieved a magnificent 
agreement for my country and for the region.  
 
This new North -American Treaty, together with the Agreement creating the WTO, must 
be the two most complex and ambitious trade instruments in force today. To have 
negotiated both of them  gives me a unique experience that I will unequivocally put at the service 
of the WTO and its Members, to lead the reform this Organization needs as it moves forward.  
 
All of these experiences, as well as my life as an academic in the UK and in France,  in Mexico, in 
Hong Kong, China and in the PRC, makes me the international man that I am, fully multilingual, with 
a career spanning the four corners of the globe and a profound multilateral consciousness. Having 
contributed fundamentally to the creation o f our WTO, my professional and personal commitment 
with this House is deep. This is why I am a candidate.  
 
All along my career I have worked with Ministers and legislators, often Heads of State. I present 
myself to you with my fullest energy, passion and e xperience, at a difficult time for the WTO. My 
commitment is to achieve with you the reform and restoration of a WTO back at the centre of global 
governance for the benefit of world economic growth. My solemn commitment to you is to be 
an effective DG and interlocutor, close to all Members north and south, east and west, and 
indeed fully equidistant  from you all.  
 
Thank you very much.  
 
 
2. Questions and Answers2 
Q: One of the roles of the Director -General will be to chair the Trade Negotiations 
Committee . If you were to be selected as DG, how do you see your participation in being 
 
2 The following delegation s also submitted their names to ask a question to the candidate: Afghanistan, 
Botswana, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, El Salvador,  Estonia, Finland, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, India, 
Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Namibia, No rway, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, 
Poland, Qatar, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Uruguay 
and Zimbabwe.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  directly involved in trade negotiations currently under way and in the future here at the 
WTO?  (Colombia ) 
 
A: In my view, the WTO has evolved and the needs are not necessarily the same today a s they 
were ten, fifteen or even more years ago. From what I have heard from delegations, there is a need 
for a Director -General who is more involved. I have been seated where you are in very difficult 
situations and in very cha llenging negotiations here at the WTO , and I understand very well this 
concept of a Member -driven process. I would never breach that principle. As the Chair of the Trade 
Negotiations Committee, I will be very respectful. I would also be an active participa nt who will 
contribute in two types of actions and that is to simpl ify processes and to offer ideas or alternatives 
in what is being discussed. The art of negotiations involves being very innovative and imaginative 
within the framework of what is being dis cussed. I will also invite participants to address what is 
being discussed directly and not to just be regurgitating statements that have been prepared weeks 
in advance. So, I will call for active participation from Members and I will participate by inject ing 
new ideas in these issues – which will also involve the participation of Members.  
 
Q: Concerning environmental issues, particularly on sustainability in terms of 
environment and climate change, how can we integrate these further in the work of the 
WTO?  Do you believe that the multilateral trade rules can contribute to mitigating climate 
change?  (France)  
 
A: This is to be decided by Members . Clearly, there can be rules  in these areas . There is a history 
of considerations in dealing with trade and the environment. This has made various Members a bit 
nervous and I will be very respectful in determining the limitations alongside them. These are very 
important issues and we need this to be a win -win situation where Members , generally speaking , 
will develop ru les in this regard. I myself will be very interested in developing rules on addressing 
climate change and trade . However, it will be up to the Membership to decide on the matter. I do 
think that it is possible to have new and major outcomes. We need to rem ember that our societies 
need to pay greater attention to the environment and that there is work that can be done here.  
 
Q: I would like to ask you about your further thoughts in relation to dispute settlement. 
What do you think is the importance of disput e settlement in trade agreements at 
whatever level around the world those agreements are made? What do you think the key 
elements are and how would you improve and restore a strong dispute process in the 
WTO?  (Ireland)  
 
A: I have my ideas about dispute set tlement in trade agreements and about this institution . The 
connection is interesting. I am not sure what I can say about that connection but as I mentioned  
earlier , I just completed the negotiation of a major trade agreement linking my country with our tw o 
big neighbours to the north – the United States and Canada. It is an agreement that I am very proud 
of. This agreement includes a very powerful dispute settlement chapter which provides for State  to 
State dispute settlement that had escaped the predecess or agreement. In NAFTA, there was 
supposed to be such a chapter – Chapter 20. Because of flaws in its design, it never came into effect 
effectively. In any event, the current one has it and the key characteristics of that will have to be 
that it is balance d, particularly in  the way you conduct the work , and that it s design  is appropriate 
for a trilateral relationship. I choose panellists from your list and you choose panellists from my list 
which is not the case at the WTO  where there is  a different kind of  situation to achieve neutrality  – 
as neutrality can be achieved by different means. In any case, the system  has to be neutral, balanced 
and binding , and we achieved all those characteristics. I will be respectful and will learn from you if 
and when I beco me DG, but as far as I know and as far as I read your statements and specialised 
articles by experts, I do not see much challenging of the DSU. I believe that the problems that exist 
concern the application of the DSU. Therefore, it is not surprising that the excellent work conducted 
by our Chairman has been largely a reaffirmation of key aspects of the DSU. In reaffirming, you are 
not just marking in yellow certain sentences in the DSU. You can accompany that, when this is 
adopted through a declaration or whatever, that adds emphasis or adds certain clarifications on how 
to do it. But I believe the DSU is not under threat. Nevertheless, there is a disconnect between the 
DSB as the ulti mate supervisory body and the Appellate Body. The DSB is the supervisor b ut the 
Appellate Body is autonomous. So , how do you make sense of those two statements? The Chairman, 
in one of his recommendations, referred briefly to the need to articulate that oversight role and I 
think that is the crux of the matter. I have my ideas but maybe that is something that we can leave 
for another time.   
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  Q: My question is related to the issue which deeply concerns my country, the Kyrgyz 
Republic, and includes some other countries due to their geographical characteristics . We 
all know about the position of the small economies which  have no access to sea which 
face high transport costs due to their landlocked position making them depend ent on 
other countries for transiting goods. In this regard, what is your vision as a candidate for 
Director -General on addressing the concerns of the  small and landlocked economies and 
how could they fully integrate into the multilateral trading system? If you share the 
opinion that it is an important issue for the WTO, what concrete steps can you propose to 
address these problems?  (Kyrgyz Republic)  
 
A: That is a very important issue . Let me first tell you about a very important event that 
happened. When we went through all that agony to close the negotiations creating the WTO, after 
everybody ha d shaken hands and everything was done, the least -develope d countries ha d not been 
as engaged as they might have wanted to be in the negotiations. After the whole thing was closed, 
I, as DDG responsible for development , received a copy of one letter from the coordinator of that 
group to the other Ministers denoun cing the results saying that they could not  meet the obligations. 
And then there was an onslaught of communication s among them that prompted me to say that this 
is not the right way to start. So , I consulted with the Director -General, and then consulted wi th 
delegations, and we initiated a special negotiation for them that I was invited to chair. And in a few 
months, we reached port and we introduced the main flexibilities that exist now for the least -
developed countries. That tells me that you do need to g ive special attention to particular groups of 
vulnerable economies. Yours is one – landlocked economies. There is the flipside of your economies 
that are also very vulnerable – the small island economies. And we also have the least -developed 
countries. So , there are at least three groups of countries that are vulnerable. How do you take 
these groups into account? Well, I use the analogy of a tennis championship. I believe the main 
story here has to be the main negotiations that involve the bulk of the Membe rs – that involve the 
European Union, the Americas, China, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand – that has to be met. 
If we do not reach agreement in that area, we are in trouble. So , we have to satisfy that. And you 
cannot create too much extra frictio n for that process by inserting too many concerns of interest to 
particular groups. The history of negotiations has been that 99% of our attention goes to what I call 
"centre court " – the centre court negotiations – which is the main negotiations. But I be lieve that 
we have not given enough attention to Court No. 1, Court No. 2 and Court No. 3 where you have to 
give specialised dedicated attention to the LDCs, the LLDCs, SID S and SVEs. I believe you need to 
give special  attention to them. We have had Workin g Groups, and forgive me if I am being unfair 
and there is perhaps a lot of very good work that is being done, it just does not reach me enough, 
but I believe that dedicated attention is necessary. As Director -General, I will certainly hope to meet 
at leas t once every couple of months with these groups to be in touch with what is happening and 
in supporting the work. And then when something needs to be brought to centre court, it has to be 
brought to some means of satisfaction. But dedicated attention is ne eded to your countries and to 
the other cases that I mentioned.    
 
Q: You refer to an organization that has fallen short of high expectations. You refer to 
the term crisis. How do you perceive the WTO's image among the business community 
and the civil soci ety on which you see a need to improve relations with these 
stakeholders? If so, what and how will you do that?  (The Netherlands)  
 
A: That is certainly an area of problem . I remember when we were negotiating in those days. We 
had strong favourable winds in  the shape of a great deal of interest by the business community, civil 
society and politics more broadly than the negotiators. So , it was very common for myself as the 
Ambassador of a medium -sized delegation, the Mexican delegation, to have in my office a  
businessman from the United States or a legislator from the European Union (European Economic 
Communities as it was called then), and also on occasion whether from India or Japan. You did have 
a lot of interest in particular from the business community an d also from political bodies and the 
civil society at large. And th e favourable wind s sometimes brought pressure , but they helped the 
process to reach port. I  believe this has been the case since Day 1 of the life of the WTO that 
somehow disappeared. It has been my impression that perhaps that was one key ingredient that did 
not help negotiations from the beginning. I do know how to elicit this interest. I can tell you  again, 
referring to the negotiations I just completed in North America, the same thing was true. We also 
did not have a lot of support from the business community and when things began to get very 
complicated because of the opposition party in one  of the countries to the north of Mexico being in 
control of the Lord Chamber of Commerce and therefore ratification of what has been agreed 
becoming very much under question, I personally began to accept participation by our business WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  community in my count ry. Very quickly, we reorganised the excellent structures that the business 
sector ha d created 25 years earlier and then after a few months, between them and me and my 
team, we managed to awaken the interest in the participation of the business sector in t he United 
States and in Canada. So , by the middle of 2019, you have a fantastic structure to the USMCA in 
the United States that we did not have at all for the previous 25 years. So , I do know to what extent 
one can have success in trying to elicit this ki nd of interest. That is the first answer. The second 
answer is that, just as in the old days, the friendly pressure by those groups help the negotiations. 
I believe that we now have in our favour the opposite – which is the fact that we are facing disaster  
or the fact that we are getting into such a tense relationship across the Pacific and to some extent 
also across the Atlantic. Amid all the major misunderstandings that exist, I think this is something 
that should also work to our advantage – to persuade people, business communities and 
governments that we need to address the issues. Otherwise, it could get worse. And then finally, I 
referred to this in my speech, in my 100 -day commitment I said the third item was to take solid 
steps to begin to change the  image of ineffectiveness that in good measure has developed by working 
with you to address the public at large and say that things are happening, we are moving, the 
negotiations are moving, the dispute settlement problem is being overcome and the WTO is 
important. So , I would very much think of being not on the road all the time , not at all , But certainly 
to make a reactive presence perhaps in Davos and in similar fora to be a powerful public voice 
working with you in support of a more positive, active ima ge of this organization. It 's needed. 
 
Q: In your initial presentation, you mentioned that if you are elected as the DG, for the 
first one hundred days you will move the things and turn around the image of the WTO . 
In that context, you mentioned fisheries,  dispute settlement and COVID -19 related issues. 
Could you elaborate your idea on how you would spend those first one hundred days so 
that we can get to know your future vision of the WTO?  (Japan)  
 
A: I hope I did not say that I would turn around the image  but begin to address that problem 
and then work on that with a firmer step possible as we move forward . Resolving the issues on 
fisheries and the dispute settlement system – only Members can do it. What I will provide if I am 
elected is a forceful, active , good faith intermediation to try to get things moving. It is my impression 
that those two key areas – the fisheries negotiation has been on for ages and the dispute settlement 
system and AB problem that is very serious – it is my impression that, with go od faith, those can be 
brought to conclusion. Now, how do I do it? Working with you. Meeting with the delegation involved 
individually  and then collectively to see where we need to move, what do we need, and to try to 
identify the blockages and to try to c ontribute to overcoming those blockages. That is all I can say. 
That is for the delegations to do it. And then on COVID -19, I believe that it is good to hear that the 
trade policy review mechanism has been getting these types of information including on tr ade 
measures , both the trade restrictive ones and those that facilitate trade. That is very good and we 
can intensify that and we would probably make it more frequent. But I believe that in an emergency 
situation like what we have now, I will really engage  in consultations to try to do more, to try to get 
an extraordinary emergency situation agreement with Members on a voluntary basis , perhaps for a 
proactive contribution of information. Because we may not know what to do with some of the 
information , but o ur business community will know very well what they can do  with it . All the 
countries work with a small piece of the sausage called value chains and you control this section. 
And if your government decides to reopen a sector at one point, you really want t o know whether 
what comes from the left or goes to the right can get in business. So , I believe that concentrating 
information on plans to liberalize to reopen is extremely useful to our business communities. So , I 
will try to start that and I will consult  with Members to learn from this experience and develop 
perhaps a code of good practice so that the next time we have a collective emergency, we face it in 
a more organised way because all our emergency procedures in the agreements relate to a country 
having a problem. But this time, every country has it. So , we need to develop a more coordinated 
approach. That is what I think I will be doing.  
 
Q: Secretariat support for Members is one crucial aspect in WTO institution building. 
While we see the importance of technical assistance extended in order to enhance 
Members' capacity to comply with the WTO Agreements, there is a lack of initiative by the 
Secretariat in providing analysis on current global trade and new trade agreement 
initiatives. This la ck of initiative exposes the WTO's lack of leadership in this area 
compared to other international organizations. How can you improve the WTO Secretariat 
in order to maximize its role and function to better serve the Members based on your 
knowledge and exp erience?  (Indonesia)  
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  A: You mention two very important issues . The first relates to technical assistance which I think 
is extremely important. I was in charge of the area when I was here. Because of the scale of 
operation, I was in charge of huge technical assistance programmes around the world when I was 
in the IMF , so I have directed and personally engaged in technical assistance in Asia, Africa and Latin 
America. But the main issue you focus on is more on analysis by the Secretariat. I believe we have 
to be careful. We are an organization whose main business is neg otiations so I would be very careful 
to have the Secretariat writing position notes. I do not think it is our business to do that. But at the 
same time, as I have said, I think the DG needs to be more engaged in developing ideas and so on. 
So, factual anal ysis, research and analysis by the Secretariat, profiling the issues without advancing 
particular solutions that may be favoured by one delegation but not the other one, I think it is 
appropriate to be careful. Let me give you one example. If you search Google, you can find a paper 
that was produced under my care when I was a DDG of GATT when we were closing the negotiations. 
In those negotiations, there was a mandate agreed that before the adoption of the final results, 
there will be a consideration by Mem bers on the results reached from the point of view of developing 
countries. Some people favoured an extremely careful analysis to produce one page saying that this 
was good for everybody. I though t it was better to really study the issues in an objective w ay – not 
taking positions. And it was a 70-plus page analysis on what were the main results and what were 
the weighted average tariff concessions and things of that kind. Some people were very nervous , 
but I was convinced that transparency was the way to r eally overcome the extreme fear from many 
delegations that we were facing during that time. We had a very robust one -day debate around the 
paper that we tabled and it was all fine. And I think it has contributed to the conclusion. So , I would 
be in favour of transparency , but careful not to have the Secretariat and myself taking sides on 
particular issues being debated. That is a careful balance that I would be very attentive to.  
 
Q: How, in your view, can plurilateral initiatives like the negotiations that  are ongoing 
on e-commerce, investment facilitation or domestic regulation contribute to strengthen 
the multilateral trading system? I would be interested in hearing your ideas if you have 
some now on how plurilateral agreements could be best integrated in to the WTO system?  
(European Union)  
 
A: As you know better than  I, that is a delicate question . I am aware that there are different 
points of view on the matter. Nevertheless, I really have to say that it is important to be as 
multilateral as possible. If there are plurilateral initiatives, I think it is vital that they should be open 
to everybody. At the same time, I often resort to history to better understand the present because 
without history, you do not know where you are going in the future. As I loo k at the history of the 
multilateral trading system, I think one of the most heroic, provocative moments was the one before 
the creation of the WTO – the Tokyo Round, when lots of issues that were giving rise to enormous 
tensions between countries were add ressed through the creation of the famous Tokyo Round Codes. 
Some of them have only twelve, fifteen, eighteen participants but I believe that they opened the 
path to create rules in extremely difficult areas like Anti -Dumping and Subsidies. I think it was a 
great contribution to the advancement of the multilateral system. Nevertheless, having said that, 
when we came to the Uruguay Round, I think its number one result, the most important one, is the 
fact that it essentially created more or less common rules for everybody – the single undertaking, 
level playing field across the board with special and differential treatment provisions, essentially 
multilaterali zing most of the obligations including the Tokyo Codes. So , it was good to create them 
and it was even  better to make them fully multilateral later. Now, having gone through the Uruguay 
Round and into the WTO, the developing countries were not that directly involved in the previous 
history of the negotiations because many of the areas of interest to them w ere not there and at the 
same time their obligations were very soft because of Part IV – the Enabling Clause. And the fact 
that everybody is now on a level playing field where  rules applied to  everybody makes it vital for 
every delegation to be part of the  progress which in turn  makes achieving such progress more of a 
challenge as we have seen this last 26 years. I believe that it is again time to make progress with 
the plurilaterals. We need to welcome advancements in the system while being very careful th at the 
plurilaterals should never be a means to exclude anybody because then I would not be in favour  of 
it. The WTO  is after all a Member -driven  organization . The benefits being open to the extent possible 
are desirable characteristics. So , I will be care ful but  also consider that making progress must be 
the fundamental objective. We all know that the world in 2020 is not the world in 2000 nor in 1995. 
Things change. Issues change. The nature of trade changes. The actors in trade change. And you 
need to co ntinue developing rules or become increasingly irrelevant. That is my approach.  
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  Q: There are many challenges that the organization is facing in a highly uncertain 
multilateral trading environment. In light of that, notwithstanding the many tasks that 
the DG will have awaiting them on Day 1, what will be your number one and number two 
priorities should you assume office?  (Barbados)  
 
A: Thank you for offering me two priorities because I cannot choose one. I think there are two 
issues that have to be tack led that are fundamentally essential from day one. The first is to resume 
the path of negotiations. This is a path that needs to be engaged, needs to create confidence, needs 
to create more trust between delegations and that will be in itself reinforcing d irection to become 
more relevant, more dynamic, more of a collective endeavour. I believe that in the 164 delegations, 
we need a 165th effective delegation which is a coalition of the negotiators whose job it is to see how 
to make progress taking everybody  into account. For me, it should be as important , if I am the 
negotiator of one country, to make progress f rom others' point of view because it is the only way to 
make progress for myself. So , I believe that this kind of confidence and cooperation, conniva nce as 
we used to say in the old days, is central for the new dynamics that I hope you will inject. For that, 
the path of negotiation start s with fisheries and the other negotiations on the way and soon enough 
at MC12 an agenda of negotiation in selected a reas. So , that is one top priority. The second one, 
which is equally important at this point in time, is the Appellate Body issue which is not a process. 
That is something to be fixed , but I hope it can be done. There are other things and there is no 
reaso n to exclude them on efficiency in the work. I think we can modernise the WTO. I believe 
COVID -19 is a terrible disaster for us – losing lives and trade. But if there is any kind of silver lining, 
it could be in relation to how good the wor k we can do by e lectronic means. If you come with a 
difficult question because your delegation has an important issue that you want to clarify in the TBT 
Committee or somewhere else, I do not think that it is very satisfactory to tell your Ambassador that 
the next meeting  is in December. I think it should be possible to engage in business by some other 
means in a more agile basis. That would also be a third priority, less dramatically important than 
the first two. But I think modernising the practical work of the executive  concerning transparency 
and efficiency should be a level 2 priority , whereas the first two would be on level 1.  
 
Q: Today, the WTO is in crisis. COVID -19 with its diverse impacts on the socio -economic 
development of WTO Members have further added challen ges to the functioning of this 
organization. The WTO has 164 Members. Their per capita income ranges from a low of 
USD 500 to a high of USD 100,000 and their nominal figures from USD 500 million to USD 
21 trillion. They have diverse interests and expectati ons from the multilateral trade 
regime. In this context, what is your plan, strategy and vision to bring all diverse groups 
of WTO Members together and meet their expectations at the maximum possible level and 
in a just and equitable manner?  (Nepal)  
 
A: You are addressing a question that everybody should be answering. This is more or less what 
has to be our vision for the future of this organization – to be a global house of trade where the 
interests of all Members are taken care of and where suitable engag ements, commitments and rules 
are developed that work for everybody , so that it fulfils the role that it is meant to fulfil. I have had 
a lot of experience on the ground. I have done close to 70 World Bank and IMF missions going to 
mainly developing countr ies, but also occasionally to Germany and to Canada and so on, and I have 
directly seen the power of trade in bringing people out of poverty and in bringing new hope to their 
lives. I really feel that everybody should seriously make this an objective. That , I think , requires – 
or at least would benefit enormously from  – a healthy, universal, inclusive and balanced sustainable 
development sensitive organization. That is the way that I see this House going.  
 
Q: How do you see the Selection of Chairpersons  of WTO Councils  and Committees ? 
How do you see the ways that the WTO Secretariat hires its staff?  (Chinese Taipei)  
 
A: I suppose that you are talking about the convenience, the need, the healthy practice of 
rotation . As far as I can tell, I have not follow ed exactly who has been  the Chairperson on each 
Council and Committee for the past 26 years , but I think it follows the practice of rotation. Such 
practice is healthy and I am very much supportive of it. Of course, it is the Members who elect them. 
They ar e not appointed by the DG. It is the Members who elect , but I think rotation is a good thing. 
Concerning the Secretariat, having a balanced Secretariat to the extent possible is important. Of 
course, the number one consideration has to be competence. The r eality is we work in three 
languages , so a Member  whose language is not one of the three WTO official ones may have some 
handicap because candidates from there  may not be as fluent in English, French or Spanish – and 
within the three, probably the main wor king language is English. So, there is a bit of a built -in factor WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  that will favour somebody from , say, India, the United Kingdom or Canada compared to somebody 
from, say, Angola. I think that is a reality. I will not be disruptive of the number one criteri on which 
is to hire quality staff and we have to try to have diversity , but at the same time we need to make 
an effort to have stronger representation from any background that is underrepresented and there 
are ways to do that , including hiring and making p art of the package intensive language lessons for 
somebody who is already competent enough , but who could do more. Basically, I believe in essential 
parity , but within the reality of qualitative criteria.  
 
Q: How do you see the WTO's role in the future af ter the establishment of the African 
Continental Free Trade Area  in the African continent which was set up to create 
advantages and privileges for African countries? Does the WTO have a role to play in 
promoting this free trade area on the African continen t? (Morocco)  
 
A: During my time in this organization, I was in charge of supervising all of the work concerning 
Article XXIV of the GATT. I know this dossier very well. Likewise, my country has done free trade 
agreements with about 50 countries. It has been a part of our culture. I have also been part of the 
academia and I know very well the research and the literature regarding this matter. I think that 
there is widespread academic opinion that provides that a free trade agreement created with the 
sole purpose of giving preferences exclusively to hamper and restrict trade is not positive.  But we 
have here an agreement that has an objective to help the economies concerned to liberalize among 
themselves and create a better trading environment among them. I  think this is a very good idea 
because all the African economies, even the largest ones such as Nigeria and South Africa, are 
relatively small. In this modern world, given the technology that we have got that is also cheap and 
available, you can import an ything for instance from Chile, from Sweden, from China, and with this 
global competition, there is a natural preference for major countries. So , I think it is important for 
African countries to increase your scale. Therefore, with these FTAs, I think that  this can be 
something very good in order to put you in a good position to create more investments. This could 
be Burkina Faso, for instance. You can really benefit from these kinds of agreements in order to 
have a more competitive market. This could be so mething very good. As DG, this is something I 
would fully support. I th ink we can certainly promote this. We need to look at what kind of assistance 
the Secretariat might provide. To a certain extent, it would be appropriate to provide some support 
for the se kinds of agreements. Of course, we are not necessarily favouring any regional agreement 
over another , but we are in favour of this type of agreement.  
 
Q: You were directly involved in setting up the  GATT and transferring it into the WTO. 
In your opinion , what do you think you can draw upon from the end of the Uruguay Round 
and apply it to the current crisis? You have already mentioned a few examples. Could you 
give us some more?  (Russian Federation)  
 
A: I am not quite sure what examples I could add . But I do think that the key thing is that we 
need to be really determined and that we continue to move forward. We need good faith and we 
need to be able to draw cooperation among negotiators. We do have a basis in order to move forward 
and overcome past gridl ocks. What we need is to have a first step. That is the most important thing. 
I am an engineer , so I would say that if you want to move , for instance , a bottle, you need a certain 
momentum. Once you start to move it, it will become easier. You need that dy namic and the same 
one applies to this organization. Once we start to move forward after that first step, I think things 
will be easier.  
 
Q: What steps would you take to better orient the WTO to serve a global economy that 
is being technologically and digitally transformed? And in doing so, how would you ensure 
that the multilateral system also becomes more inclusive and supportive of minorit y and 
marginalised voices including women?  (New Zealand)  
 
A: There may be different aspects t o your question. I believe that it is central for the organization. 
My vision is an inclusive, balanced organization. So , in terms of concrete participation, we need not 
only to be open to everybody , but to be proactive in taking care of the interests and the challenges 
pertaining to particular groups of countries. I already refer red to the small landlocked economies , 
small island economies and LDCs. The organization should be proactive. Then you brought in the 
dimension of gender. Of course , it is very imp ortant. I believe that it is already part of our mandate. 
It comes from MC11. To promote this is very much a demand that the world places on us. We need 
to be responsive like with everything else within the main objectives of the organization to achieve 
good results for everybody, to search always quality and to be business oriented , but that is not in WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  the least in conflict with the promotion of a gender perspective. If I share with you the list of my 
team engaged in the negotiations with our difficult and challenging neighbours in the north, all my 
immediate team by happenstance are women – immediately working with me are three women and 
then my Director -General's undersecretaries, out of five that we have, there are three women, all 
three of them appointed  by me . The two others are people who stayed from the previous 
administration. So , I believe that one can be and should be proactive in incorporating that dimension 
as well as the regional dimension mentioned. I believe that all of these are demands our so ciety 
places on us , to which we need to be responsive. I will certainly hope to see that reflected in my 
Secretariat if I am elected including at the highest levels because there is a lot of room to move in 
this direction.   
 
Q: A recent report by the WTO on COVID -19 and Trade i n Services suggests that 
services trade would be key to global economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic . But 
we all know that African countries and many small economies are facing new challenges 
in linking not only to global value chain s relating to  trade in goods but also trade in 
services. So , what would be your proposals in addressing these challenges and how would 
you help these Members in better integrating into the multilateral trading system and in 
particular in the value chains in trade in serv ices?  (Mauritius)  
 
A: Services is a v ery special kind of sector. In a way, it is a big challenge for the poorest 
economies, for developing economies generally and for the least -developed economies because 
there is a lack of development on the service direc tion. But at the same time , quite often it is a 
collection of sectors where it is easier to jump the obstacles and to move to the forefront. India has 
demonstrated that. It is a great exporter in services – being very much a developing country but  
has made  formidable advances in services particularly in I.T. related  sectors  and so on. And this is 
the case for others as well. A lot of that has to pass through open policies in the direction of 
developing the services sector and also financial resources becaus e of the need to  have resources 
to invest, to educate and so on. So , this is one area that I think will benefit a lot from closer 
cooperation between this organization and financial organizations such as the World Bank and IMF 
to have a more concerted appr oach with the development of certain areas such as this. I believe the 
coherence mandate is very important , in particular , to bring on board the poor countries to be able 
to compete in the new economy, the economy of the 21st century and in particular in the services 
dimension. I think it goes through good agreements developed here , but at the same time good 
policies in the country and financial support from our sister institutions in a concerted way . 
 
Q: The WTO consists of Members  at different levels of d evelopment . How do you plan 
to facilitate consensus in relation to special and differential treatment given the different 
views in this regard?  (South Africa)  
 
A: This is an enormously important question and there are different points of view here . I tell 
you, whatever I say is qualified by the fact that I am profoundly aware of the fact that this is a 
Member -driven organization, everything has to be agreed. But nevertheless, I believe that any idea 
of reclassifying Members and to say a Member is no  longer a developing country Member, it may be 
what anybody is suggesting , but any suggestion in this direction would not be productive because it 
has to be agreed and the negotiation to agree on any such reclassification would probably take 
longer than th e Doha Round. In my opinion, what is appropriate is to examine the issue. At the same 
time, it is true that times have changed. The nature of engagement within these countries has 
changed. It is appropriate to reconsider what is the contribution that diffe rent countries can make. 
I would not imagine that a country like mine should be able to do the same things or have the same 
liberties, the same access to S&DT , as Angola or Honduras. The question would be, what is the 
contribution that can be made? I think  the more pragmatic approach is what could be answered. 
Maybe we have seen some of that in the Trade Facilitation Agreement. Of course , the TFA is relatively 
easier. It is not a real negotiation area , but I think it shows the way on a more pragmatic approa ch 
to do this. The question should be : what contribution can be made on major issues by different 
countries? And then there should be countries where the issue is not even posed. There really  are 
countries without that capacity. The other question that I w ould ask is : what is the need that 
countries have ? And I think that , since it is something that has been agreed in the past, any clear 
need for special and different treatment should be provided. I think that is the approach that should 
be at least the gui ding light, not necessarily easily done but certainly easily said and hopefully a 
good kind of principle to try to apply and follow.  
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  Q: The current situation in global trade raises a significant number of issues such as 
the current various areas of trade policy and growing contradiction in trade between 
specific Members and as a result, slows down the development of the trade system. As a 
possible Chair of the TNC and a DG, in which areas do you see necessity to concentrate 
efforts of the WTO Members?  (Ukraine) 
 
A: I already gave my ideas hoping that Members will agree with that . It is a Member -driven 
organization , but on areas where we already have negotiations on the way, I believe there is every 
reason to try to bring them to port. A s to a reas that pose a distinct major challenge to the 
organization such as the Appellate Body, we need to move on that. And then I would be consulting 
you and I will consult delegations on what could be that agenda . I would hope to have  an agenda 
for negotiations to be agreed  at MC12. I suggest that Agriculture is an obvious candidate. Maybe 
issues of green economy and development will be a candidate. Issues of transparency would be a 
candidate. But these are ideas that I would give no weight to at all unless they are supporte d by the 
Members. What I offer you is not those ideas but a forceful, honest Director -General that will mediate 
and work hard to identify issues and areas for solid advancement. I would not want to see an 
organization that is unable to negotiate and to mak e progress. Let us work together on identifying 
the key issues . Maybe some of tho se I suggested could be there , but it is for you to decide.  
 
Q: As you know, a significant number of landlocked countries are fa ced with high trade 
costs . Statistics show tha t the trade costs for them are twice as high than the costs for 
other Members. Moreover, their participation in world trade is less than one per cent. So 
how can you strengthen the rights, especially the transit rights, for the LLDCs in the WTO 
Agreements and in the WTO structure in general?  (Mongolia)  
 
A: This is the issue that was asked before , so let me just re -state. I believe there needs to be a 
window and a table to consider the issues and ideas and to examine what might be appropriate in 
relation to the landlocked economies where those economies are sitting there alongside other 
Members , in particular the bigger Me mbers. I would hope that the European Union and the United 
States would be sitting there together with other Members to identify what could be the issues. But 
many of the issues would probably be not only about trade openness and trade cooperation , but 
also questions of financing and access to natural resources and so on. It depends very much on your 
policies as well. There is no magic wand. But I think dedicated attention is all I can suggest and 
promise.  
 
Q: How would you describe  yourself as a manager? W hat kind of leadership style will 
you bring to the WTO?  (Singapore)  
 
A: I read somewhere that nobody can supervise effectively more than seven people . I do not 
know where the number comes from. But I very much believe in teams. You have to be a good 
centra liser – empower colleagues to do their job. I very much follow that kind of mantra. I believe 
in openness. I am very proactive. I will always be very energetic and passionate addressing the 
issues but working as a team. And I am fortunate that the Secretar iat staff in this organization are 
highly dedicated and highly competent people. The DG works not only with staff , but also has a 
hybrid relationship with the Members. So , I would be very cooperative trying to maximize collective 
achievement s through mutua l leverage. That is my approach.  
 
Q: Of course , there are benefits in the negotiations on e -commerce, fisheries subsidies 
and investment facilitation , but agriculture also plays a major role in the work of the WTO. 
What is your specific proposal to make pr ogress in this area?  (Costa Rica)  
 
A: I agree with you. Agriculture is very important indeed. In talking about a future programme, 
I would be careful not to give too many examples because if we negotiate one or another issue, of 
course that will depend on whether the Membership agree and agriculture is part of that. Clearly, 
we need to reinvigorate these negotiations. It is a specific area where we should reach an agreement 
at MC12 , but this would depend on how we would operate and how we would be very acti vely 
discussing this. We need to make progress in this area , as well as in many others in order to involve 
all Members. If I were to be DG, I will be as dynamic as possible in this process. I will remain 
impartial and the process will continue to be Member -driven.  
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  3. Summing up by the Candidate3 
I would like to thank all delegations , including  those who wanted to speak and were not given the 
floor. Apologies for that. I also want to thank those who did not speak. Thank you all for your time 
and attention. It is a privilege. The questions were all deep and constructive. They certainly reflect 
the thematic diversity that I expected, the complexity that we face, this evident urgency to pave the 
road for progress for this organization that we all feel so strongly about. We need to leave behind 
narrow perspectives and think of realistic, mutually sup portive ways of moving forward. It is 
necessary to move forward. It is necessary to accept that the world is changing, that a new opening 
is necessary, that new rules are necessary, that new commitments are necessary. There has to be 
a new spirit of dynami cs moving forward. Of course, the future of the organization is subject to all 
kinds of international issues and considerations , including geopolitical ones. But those who 
participate , I believe , in this House should also add to any other perspective they have the banner, 
the flag of the importance of open trade, balanced trade, good -for-everybody trade that this House 
represents.  
 
As I read carefully the speeches that were pronounced in 2013 by the candidates to be DG then, I 
find that many of the issues being discussed now are the same. There were concerns expressed then 
about the need to avoid the path of irrelevance for this organization and it really gives me an uneasy 
feeling that seven and a half years later, we may not even be in the same position , but slightly 
deeper into challenging territory. So , we really need to shake the tree and move forward , and I 
would be very much committed to doing that with you. I very much hope that is what you want to 
do. The organization is in urgent need for movement because the alternative is not that it will 
disappear. I do not think it will ever disappear because countries  are very bad at closing 
organizations that do not work. I will not give you examples , but there are one or two somewhere. 
It never happens. But t hey do run the risk of being increasingly irrelevant. And this one cannot be 
exempted. We have not found a vaccine against COVID -19. And we have also not found a vaccine 
against irrelevance of an organization that does not create its own relevance through good work. 
And the cost of that is the cost of threatening mediocrity. So , I really would like to call on Members 
to refuse that, to say that trade is too important to risk that.  
 
Let us move together. This is a great challenge for you, a great challenge for everybody. But on my 
part, if the Membership so decides, you will have in me an experienced, assertive, committed, 
passionate leader that will work with you, with each and every Member to make a change. It is not 
the time for impromptu leadership. It i s the time for energetic leadership, leadership that can bring 
the kind of political dimension that you have always needed – and more so now – and at the same 
time have the knowledge essential for a leader that will be able to work with you on the issues. I 
offer exactly that. It is not the time for learning curves. It is time to get things done. And then we 
can worry about all the kinds of considerations when the skies are blue. The skies are not blue now. 
We are in a bit of a storm for this organization. We need a captain that will work with you, facing 
with enough expertise the threatening waves that may come from the right or from the left to make 
sure that we make progress straight ahead.  
 
_______________
 
3 Under the modalities for the conduct of the meeting communicated by the Chair to all delegatio ns on 1 
and 1 0 July, each candidate had the opportunity to make a concluding statement during the last five minutes of 
the question -and-answer period if  she or he so wished.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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ANNEX 2  
Meeting with Dr . (Mrs .) Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala (Nigeria)  
1. Presentation by the Candidate1 
Thank you, Chair, for the opportunity to meet with delegations to talk about my candidacy for the 
post of WTO Director -General. I am here because trade is vital for a prosperous 21st century and 
the WTO is needed more than e ver before. Mais Monsieur le Président de Conseil, avant de prononcer 
mon discours, j'aimerais présenter mes sincères condoléances à quiconque qui aurait perdu un 
membre de la famille à cause du COVID -19 et pour ceux qui sont malades, je leur souhaite un b on 
rétablissement . In my statement, I will be focusing on my motivations for becoming a candidate, as 
well as my vision for this organization.  
 
Since the creation of the GATT in 1948, the growth of trade has gone hand in hand with the large 
expansion of t he global economy that has resulted in increased living standards around the world 
and lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the developing world.  
 
The WTO plays an essential role in world trade through mechanisms designed to foster tran sparency, 
predictability and stability in the MTS, monitor trade developments, promote exchanges and build 
trust. It also assists developing countries, especially the least developed and small economies, to 
boost trade through technical assistance and capa city building. Trade and trade policy have rightly 
become central to national development strategies.  
 
In recent years, the multilateral trading system (MTS) has been going through difficult and 
challenging times. But, in my view, the world now needs, more  than ever, a reinvigorated WTO.  
 
The challenges facing the WTO did not start with the current pandemic. Since 1995, the negotiating 
function of the WTO has not produced many results and although there have been some successful 
agreements, key areas like agriculture remain stuck. The WTO appears paralysed at a time when its 
rule book would greatly benefit from an update to 21st century issues such as e -commerce and the 
digital economy, the green and circular economies. Issues of women and trade and Mi cro Small and 
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are important to ensure greater inclusion. Bridging the digital divide 
to enable Least Developed Countries and other developing countries to participate will be key.  
 
Transparency and notification are critically imp ortant for a stable, predictable, and fair MTS. 
Businesses, large or small, eschew uncertainty as this increases transaction costs. Improving 
compliance in transparency and notification may require Technical Assistance and capacity building 
for Members who  lack resources to comply.  
 
There will be a need to improve the functioning of the regular bodies by standardizing best practices. 
The Secretariat must be strengthened to enable it better support Members in negotiations, 
implementation, monitoring and dis pute settlement.  
 
Members ' views differ on a number of fundamental issues, such as special and differential treatment 
or the need for the WTO to tackle new issues and develop new or enhanced rules to deal with SOEs 
and agricultural subsidies, for example. Trade tensions among the membership have flared up, 
threatening the fundamental architecture of the MTS. With all these, the WTO, unfortunately, is now 
perceived by some as an inefficient organization that has failed to keep abreast of developments in 
the global economy.  
 
These challenges are unprecedented and have been exacerbated by the COVID crisis. As Chair of 
Gavi, I have the privilege of being in the frontlines of those working on accelerating tools to fight 
COVID -19. No one knows the trajectory of t his pandemic. But one thing is clear, the negative 
externalities on the world 's economy and society are profound and could linger on until the 
appropriate vaccines or therapeutics are found. Some policy responses, such as export restrictions 
to guarantee d omestic access to food or medical supplies – can complicate, in the short run, efforts 
 
1 The presentation is also circulated i n document JOB/GC/234.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  to re-invigorate the WTO. Similarly, there is need to ensure that stimulus packages granted by some 
Members do not undermine their WTO commitments by distorting producti on and trade.  
 
If all these challenges are to be overcome, it will require strong engagement and commitment from 
all WTO Members. This is the only way the WTO can produce concrete results, and better respond 
to the needs of Members of all sizes and levels  of economic development. If selected, I consider that 
I am well placed to work with Members to address these challenges.  
 
First, I am a strong believer in the role of trade and of the MTS to bring shared prosperity. I can 
bring a fresh pair of eyes to th e WTO 's challenges. Renewing and improving the organization will 
require recalling the core objectives and principles on which the MTS was built – the value of open 
trade, competition and non -discrimination, security and predictability of market access, an d 
transparency. These principles have contributed to economic growth and development and will 
continue to do so if Members renew their commitment to them.  
 
Second , confronting the challenges the WTO faces will necessarily require building trust among the 
membership. Current problems are not solely of a technical nature. If they were, they would have 
been solved long ago, given the technical expertise available among Members and in the WTO 
Secretariat. A number of these problems require political solutions,  and deep experience in 
multilateral organizations, skills I would bring to the job.  
 
Throughout my career, I have been involved in difficult negotiations with high political stakes, such 
as tough economic reform programs, including trade policy reforms i n a variety of middle and low 
income countries, and debt relief negotiations with both the Paris and London clubs. I have brokered 
numerous agreements that have produced win -win outcomes. I have the skills to effectively engage 
governments and other stakeh olders and build consensus around areas of common interest.  
 
For me, trade is a passion and a mission. As a development economist, I have worked on trade 
policy issues during my 25 -year career at the World Bank. As Finance Minister, the Nigerian Customs 
Service reported to me, which meant work on trade facilitation. Together with my colleague, the 
Minister of Trade, I worked on the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs. If selected as WTO DG, I 
would spare no effort supporting Members to build bridges and foster trust, diffuse political tensions, 
and encourage convergence. I would work hard to earn the confidence of all Members to help steer 
the organization towards increased relevance and efficiency.  
 
Third, managing an international organization, including desig ning and implementing reforms, is a 
complex matter. I have a proven track record in carrying out successful reforms both at the World 
Bank and as Finance Minister in Nigeria.  
 
My vision is of a WTO with Purpose where Members coalesce around the capacity o f trade to help 
foster economic growth and sustainable development. A WTO with Trust where Members work in 
concert to solve problems. While a key objective of the WTO is the liberalization of trade for the 
mutual benefit of its Members, it appears that thi s very concept is now a divisive issue as a result 
of the perceived imbalances in the rights and obligations of Members and the perceived uneven 
distribution of the gains from trade. I would constantly remind Members about the value of the MTS 
and help ene rgize them to work harder to overcome the challenges that have paralyzed the WTO 
over the years.  
 
My vision is also of a rejuvenated and strengthened WTO that will be confident to tackle effectively 
ongoing issues such as the fisheries negotiations. With political will, outstanding issues of subsidies 
that lead to overfishing and unsustainable fishing can be concluded. Agriculture has complex moving 
parts on which substantial progress will need to be made, be it on domestic support, Public 
Stockholding for  Food Security (PSH), Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), Cotton or market 
access. A rejuvenated WTO must also take on fresh challenges, such as ensuring optimal 
complementarity between trade and the environment and ensuring that WTO rules best respond to 
the realities of e -commerce and the opportunities and challenges of the digital economy. A refreshed 
WTO must find solutions to the stalemate over dispute settlement. It is clear that a rules  based 
system without a forum in which a breach of the rules can b e effectively arbitrated loses credibility 
over time.  
 
We must have a WTO that works for the benefit of all Members regardless of size or level of economic 
development. LDCs and Small Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) should have opportunities to participate WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  in regional and global supply chains to enhance their presence in the trading system. We must be 
sensitive to the particular policy challenges that those countries face. A revamped trading system 
should offer opportunities for MSMEs to increase and diversify  their market access, enabling them 
to generate employment and contribute to economic growth and sustainable development. It should 
also be responsive to the challenge of facilitating the greater participation of women in international 
trade, particularly in developing countries, where greater efforts should be made to include women 
owned enterprises in the formal sector.  
 
Considering the plethora of challenges facing the global economy, including COVID -19 there is need 
for coherence in the policy responses of relevant international organisations, including the FAO, 
World Bank, IMF, IFC, the regional development banks and WH O and UN System. As noted by the 
G20 Eminent Persons Group, institutions sometimes work at cross purposes. If selected, I will 
deepen the working relationships with all relevant institutions to create synergies and coordinate 
support to Members.  
 
The stale mate in multilateral trade negotiations has led many Members in recent years to embark 
on plurilateral negotiations to advance particular issues. The energy associated with those 
discussions has helped refocus attention on the WTO and would be best if thes e negotiations could 
produce outcomes that reinforce the multilateral trading system. Members have also entered into 
regional trade agreements to secure access to markets, tackle issues that are not sufficiently 
addressed in the WTO or that are not part of  the multilateral rulebook. RTAs can complement 
multilateral efforts, and their success in tackling new and traditional issues should inspire WTO 
Members to do likewise. But despite their benefits, RTAs cannot  be a perfect substitute for the MTS. 
In our ti mes, countries cannot  solely rely on trade agreements with selected partners. Technology 
and other innovations have reduced the impact of distance and the world is too connected. 
Companies, including MSMEs, are increasingly able to offer their products to consumers all around 
the world. By linking economies of the world through basic common rules, the WTO has a unique 
value added. The MTS also has unique challenges, but it merits our greatest efforts.  
 
Let me conclude by reiterating the importance of the W TO at this critical and uncertain period. The 
WTO is needed to ensure that trade and global markets remain open and are further extended. Its 
convening power and ability to provide a unique forum where countries can come together around 
shared interests is  still vital and, in fact, indispensable. If the WTO did not exist, we would have to 
invent it. Given the interconnectedness of the world 's economies, a collective response to current 
and emerging challenges will always be stronger than individual response s. As we put it in my igbo 
language, Aka nni Kwo aka ekpe, aka ekepe akwo akanni wancha adi ocha (If the right washes the 
left hand, and the left hand washes the right hand, then both become clean). This is a call for 
collective action. The rules  based MTS  is a public good that underpins peace, security, stability and 
a chance for prosperity in the world. Every effort should therefore be made to safeguard, improve 
and renew it to enable it effectively address the challenges of the 21st century.  
 
Excellenci es, dear friends, I believe I bring exactly the right combination of skills and experience 
(public sector, private sector, international civil society, multilateral organizations and a worldwide 
network of contacts) needed to lead this organization in the future. Should I be elected, I would 
work with Members to prioritize delivering a successful MC12 with good outcomes on fisheries, 
agriculture and other areas. I would also prioritize updating the rulebook, unlocking the dispute 
settlement system, working on transparency and notification, enhancing the work of regular bodies, 
and strengthen the Secretariat. For me, it would be an honour and privilege to serve.  
 
Muchas gracias.  
Syeh syeh.  
Arigato Gozaimashta.  
Shukran.  
Spaciba.  
Thank you.   
 
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  2. Questions and An swers2 
Q: You mentioned that you have been a Board Chair of GAVI . The COVID -19 pandemic 
has had a very significant negative impact on trade and economies of all countries 
especially in the case of developing countries, LDCs and SVEs. What do you think should 
be done to ensure that these countries can rely on the multila teral trading system to help 
them move out of this crisis?  (Afghanistan ) 
 
A: Probably the COVID -19 pandemic is one the most serious issues of our time . To answer your 
question, I think we have to look at it both from the short -term and the longer -term pers pective. To 
aid the developing countries , the vulnerable economies and the world, we need to look at the short -
term responses that have happened with COVID -19. Some export restrictions have been put by 
some  on the export of medical supplies and even of foo d. So, first, it would be good to look at those 
in the short term if they are temporary, proportionate and transparent and if Members are fading 
them out as promised. Otherwise , we have to work to unlock such measures i n order to make sure 
that medical sup plies and food are available , especially to the food import dependent countries that 
will need access t o them . This is also an issue in the longer term to ensure that while  we make 
efforts to keep  trade open for those countries that cannot manufacture thei r own medical supplies 
or equipment or their own food  for them  to be able to import  essential items , we should balance it 
with the consideration of enabling  those countries who want the ability to manufacture some of these 
things  to do so . That is somethin g we need to watch. But from where I s it, the issue of vaccines and 
making sure that that is available when a vaccine is proven and of quality, is critically important , 
especially for developing countries and vulnerable economies. So , in the longer term, w e have to 
ensure that we have an open, flexible trading system that allows imports or exports of these 
medicines and medical supplies and vaccines to countries that cannot manufacture them. A second 
aspect of the impact of COVID -19 has to do with the world  economy recovering from the deep 
recession that the world is going into. The IMF has forecasted that the world economy is going to 
contract by about 5% -6% and some of the vulnerable and small economies may contract even more. 
So, finding a means for trade  to play the role it should to continue  with its  recovery  efforts in  these 
economies and the world will be vital . Making trade an instrument of economic recovery will be of 
great assistance , not only  to developing countries and small and vulnerable economi es, but to the 
world as a whole. It should be an instrument to help the world recover.  
 
Q: The world economy has changed quite significantly in recent decades . The question 
is the challenge to the WTO in responding to the changed nature of the world econom y. 
How do we ensure that the benefits of open trade are distributed equitably , particularly 
to meet the needs of developing countries , and how can we guarantee that that happens 
through negotiations in the period ahead?  (Ireland)  
 
A: The world economy has indeed changed and continues to change. If you look at the data, you 
will find that trade in goods have been declining in terms of its rate of growth , while that of services 
and data flow across borders have been growing exponentially . Digital trade and e -commerce have 
also become important. So , to respond to these challenges, I talked about the need to update the 
rulebook of the WTO to take account of these challenges of the world , be it for e -commerce and the 
digital economy, environ ment and climate change, women and MSMEs. We need to update the 
rulebook and facilitate the discussions to meet these challenges. In terms of LDCs, we need to make 
sure that the changing trading environment benefits them. Some of the provisions for LDCs in  terms 
of Aid for Trade and EIF would, for example, be a means of supporting them to be able to strengthen 
their participation in the multilateral trading system , so that they could benefit from it. We need to 
pay particular attention to the needs of the L DCs – the most closely identified group of the WTO , in 
which there are 47  Members . The policy space for them to develop is particularly important , and  
strengthening them through Aid for Trade and technical assistance to be able to benefit from world 
trade is also very important and should enable them to increase their gains from trade. In addition 
to that, we should also look at issues of MSMEs that are quite common in these countries and try to 
see how we can support these and strengthen them both with pol icies behind the border , as well as 
outside to enable them to participate and benefit more from the world trade system. This would also 
help the LDCs.  
 
2 The following delegations also submitted their names to ask a question to the candidate: Barbados, 
Bulgaria,  Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Gabon, 
The Gambia, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, I taly, Jamaica, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Nepal, The 
Netherlands, Panama, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Sri Lanka, 
Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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Q: In your presentation, you touched upon your priority issues for MC12 . If elected, 
what concrete step s will you undertake to ensure a multilateral outcome at MC12?  
(Kazakhstan)  
 
A: MC12 is probably one of the most important things facing the WTO . From that perspective, it 
would be very important to have good outcomes from MC12 in order to show the world t hat the 
WTO is back, the WTO is rejuvenated, the WTO is relevant. I am afraid that if we do not have those 
kinds of outcomes from MC12, we will continue to have a view of the WTO , of an organization that 
is fleeting in relevance. I do not think that that i s right because I strongly believe that the WTO is 
needed. So, I will be looking for issues where we could have successful outcomes where Members 
working together could agree. For instance, the fisheries negotiations have been ongoing and I hope 
that they will be concluded perhaps even before the end of the year or before MC12. It would be my 
hope and expectation that the remaining issues about subsidies, if you want to call them bad 
subsidies, that lead to overcapacity and overfishing would be agreed espec ially on how to deal with 
them, including what disciplines to put around them – and the issue of supporting small scale 
fisheries would also be agreed. With political will, I know we can do it. So , this will be a top priority. 
With respect to agriculture, if there cannot be agreement reached, I would hope that the discussions 
and conversations will at least move along. I know the issues of domestic support, PSH, SSM and 
other issues are topical , and I would hope that we will be able to move along on those a nd other 
areas , including market access. As I said, if not for an outcome, we must at least advance those 
discussions. I would also hope that we would be able to advance discussions on issues like MSMEs 
and women and trade. There are also some plurilateral  negotiations that more than a hundred 
Members are participating in , like investment facilitation. I would hope that we could also advance 
on those negotiations. These are my priorities for MC12. If we could get those kinds of outcomes on 
fisheries, moveme nt on agriculture, movement on women and trade, movement on MSMEs, that 
would be something that would show the world something new and something successful for the 
WTO.  
 
Q: Could you briefly describe the WTO within four words during the  four years of your 
leadership?  (Ukraine)  
 
A: I can only think of one word that reflects what I would want the WTO to be and look like within 
four years of my leadership – and that is "great".  
 
Q: Many point to the lack of trust between, in particular, major players as one of the 
main reasons why it is difficult to create progress , in particular in the negotiating pillar , 
but also in the reform agenda in general. Do you see a role for the Director -General in 
addressing the trust issue between the major players? And if you se e a role, how would 
you then approach that issue? What would be your contribution , and do you have 
experience in your long career that can be relevant to that task?  (Norway)  
 
A: I mentioned in my speech that the issues and challenges confronting the WTO ar e not purely 
of a technical nature because they would have  already  been solved if s uch was the case . So, the 
question about the political context is absolutely right. There has been a background from what I 
understand or can see of , maybe , lack of trust be tween major Members , but also , maybe sometimes , 
between developing and developed Members . I think the only way that I know to build trust is to 
find areas of common interest where there is interconnection that you can begin to build and bring 
the parties t ogether. This is where the Director -General of the WTO, who has no direct power and 
can onl y work through influence with Members , can contribute. Influence can be proactive. You need 
an energetic, committed and proactive DG who can help do this and find th ose interconnections. 
Sometimes , when people seem to have disagreements, if you listen carefully, there are areas where 
they actually agree. And if you can begin to build on those areas and have some win -win results, 
that would begin to build trust. Talkin g about building  trust, talking alone does not bring it. It helps 
but it does not bring it. You build trust only with action. So , we must find those actions that will help  
build trust. And it will take time , but we can do it. So , that is what I will do. Wi th respect to the 
major powers, this is a very challenging issue because it is very political. But as DG, I would do my 
best. One of the things that I would try to convey to the major powers is that I think both are 
interested in a multilateral trading sys tem that also helps developing countries and vulnerable 
economies that function for the whole world. I would seek to remind them that they had benefited 
from this in developing their economies and can still benefit again. I would look for those 
intersectio ns where again one can begin to bring them together around common or shared interest s WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  because I think there are some. Every Member is interested in a dispute settlement system that 
works , for instance. We must think of way s on how we can begin to build con fidence and trust in 
some small actions leading to big ones between Members that can lead them again to begin to work 
together for the WTO . As I said, I had a long career at the World Bank as Minister of Finance. Using 
that, I have been able to establish b ridges and contacts where I can reach levels where policy 
decisions are being made. If you need to solve this, you have to first work with the Ambassadors 
but you also have to reach those people who are making the decisions and be able to talk and to 
listen to them to understand what their issues are. That is the way you can see the interconnections 
that you can use to build bridges  and then actually begin to build them . I believe I have the contacts 
in both powers to be able to do this. And this is what I would bring if I am elected to be the next 
WTO Director -General. There is no easy way in building trust , but I think it can be done. And the DG 
should actively and proactively work with Members to do this.  
 
Q: Why do you think the WTO has struggled so much  over the past decade to conclude 
substantive multilateral outcomes and what will you do as DG to change that?  (New 
Zealand)  
 
A: Some of what I said before lies at the crux of the struggle with negotiations. The issue of lack 
of trust among Members that ha s diminished over time has made it more difficult. When one side 
brings an issue, sometimes the other side thin ks there is nothing in it for them. When that side 
brings an issue, the other side think s they are doing this to stop my interests from being realised. 
It is a fundamental lack of trust that has led to struggles to complete or conclude negotiations. This 
is where one has to work really hard. As I said before, the only way to build trust is to find some 
common areas where Members agree. In the multilateral negotiations that is ongoing for fisheries, 
this has been progressing relatively well and I believe that it is possible to come to an outcome. I 
am hopeful that a successful outcome to this wo uld then lead Members again to believe they can 
work together, that they can tackle some of the difficult issues, and that they can again reinstate 
their ability to negotiate. I think this is part of the issue. Perhaps in the past, there were some 
negotiat ions that did not go so well and trust was broken. That has fundamentally been the problem. 
There are issues under the Doha Development Agenda where Members did not agree and since then 
it has been quite difficult. Much as we talk of difficulty, I see ligh t at the end of the tunnel. I am 
really hopeful that we are going to have those outcomes. With that, trust will begin to come back. 
As DG, I would actively, off the bat, start working hard with Members to make sure that we have 
such an outcome because it w ill be a bridge to better work together for negotiations.  
 
Q: The world is facing the depressed recession likely to dwarf the 2008 and 2009 
financial crisis . How do you see your role in facilitating a multilateral trading system that 
contributes to econom ic recovery and resilience?  (South Africa)  
 
A: This is the critical question of our time . How do we get the multilateral trading system to play 
the role it should play to aid economic recovery in the world ? As I have said, there are short -term 
aspects of i t and longer -time ones. In the short term, we must remove those restrictions that impede 
trade , so that countries will be able to have access to the supplies and goods they need to be able 
to recover. In the longer term, I believe that liberalization of tr ade is also important if trade is to 
contribute to lifting the world out of recession. As we see it, the world economy focused to contract 
by 5% , while trade , according to the statistics , I saw would contract probably by 18%. And this is 
deep, so we have t o work hard to find those levels that will enable trade to contribute. Removing 
the restrictions  and making sure they do not reappear in the longer term , liberalizing trade, working 
on new issues, energizing new issues that could lead to more trade in the world, be ing inclusive and 
working on MSMEs  and ensuring that there are no unduly high tariffs against goods and services 
that will allow us to trade more in those items , would be positive contributions of the multilateral 
trading system. In addition, for LDCs and SVEs, we must also see how to support them with behind -
the-border issues like investment in their economies , for them to be able to participate more and 
better to the multilateral trading system , because that is how they will come out of their cur rent 
challenges. We must also look at the massive amount of stimulus liquidity that have been put in the 
economies for recovery. The stimulus packages are quite rightly done because we need that for the 
world economy to recover. But we have to make sure th at they do not result in trade -distorting 
measures that can inhibit trade , that should help the world recover and that we phase out this 
liquidity and the stimulus in a good way that promotes trade and does not inhibit it. So , it is a basket 
of measures. S ome of them are trade related while others are behind the borders to help countries 
because they need additional help and assistance for them to participate. If I were DG, I would do 
this by working very closely with some other multilateral organizations. I will work closely with the WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  World Bank and IMF to look for resources , including the regional development banks , so that if we 
want to increase and if we want trade to assist, we need to also look at what countries need for 
investment and for strengthening  their ability to trade behind the borders. So , getting resources and 
working in a policy -coherent fashion with these organizations to help Members to better trade would 
be the kinds of issues that I would look at as the Director -General.  
 
Q: In your view, what would be necessary to restore the functioning of a binding, two -
step dispute settlement system in the WTO?  (European Union)  
 
A: The restoration of a binding, two -step dispute settlement system is one of the most 
fundamental issues that have to b e tackled if the WTO is to be seen as continuing to function. You 
cannot have a rules -based organization without a forum in which disputes can be brought and 
settled. Otherwise, as I said in my speech, it loses credibility over time. So , it is absolutely e ssential 
that we work to restore this two -step system. I would look at some of the issues that different 
Members have with the dispute settlement system – be it the issue of the length of time it takes for 
the Appellate Body to come to some answer to , or resolution of , the cases before it , or the 90 -day 
limitation, be it looking at mandates whether it is making judgments or reaching conclusions beyond 
the covered agreements that Members have reached. These are some of the issues that are being 
questioned. T here are also some Members that feel that there are structural issues that inhibit them 
from participating in the two -step system. These are all the thing that I will look at. There have been 
some arrangements like the MPIA that about 19 countries , includi ng the EU , have come together to 
propose as an interim measure. There was also the Walker Process that has been undertaken and 
there are some elements and suggestions in there that we could build on t o restore the two -tier 
dispute settlement system. Whatev er we do about it, it has to come out as a system that is 
independent, impartial and that works within a specified mandate. It has to be a system that all 
Members can have confidence and trust in.  
 
Q: In the context of the pandemic and the tensions between  Members, what additional 
role do you think that the organization could play in the growing uncertainty in trade to 
show the added value of keeping a multilateral trading system?  (Paraguay)  
 
A: In the context of this pandemic, with all the uncertainty that it brings to the global economy 
and to the world, and in the context of the tensions between Members, I really do think that the 
organization, in order to show that it is relevant and that it can add value, has to have some wins 
that can d emonstrate that the multilateral trading system is functioning, alive and well. There are 
two parts in this regard. If in the first part it would be necessary to have a good outcome on an area 
of negotiations that would materially improve trade for Members , such as in fisheries , and we can 
see that spur in trade . If we can support small scale fisheries within that which is important to many 
countries, Members and people around the world , including the common woman and man, will begin 
to see that the WTO is about people and it is for people. Therefore, they will begin to know the value 
that the multilateral trading system will have if we can have agreements that can lead us to increase 
trade in the world and use the multilateral trading system as an instrumen t to recover from this 
recession and this crisis. The WTO can be a part of that in spurring this and making sure that we 
come to either new agreements that can spur or liberalize trade or existing agreements that we can 
move in order for Members to be able  to trade more. I think that will bring confidence. We need to 
take actions that will make the world and Members see that the WTO is alive, well and functioning 
– a rejuvenated WTO that is adding value to the multilateral trading system.  
 
Q: Do you think t hat transparency and notification obligations concerning trade 
measures need to be strengthened? How can this be done?  (Estonia)  
 
A: This is a n important question. Transparency and notification need to be strengthened. 
Transparency is one key factor that i s essential in the multilateral trading system. If there is no 
transparency and Members are not notified ahead of time of actions in the trading system of 
Members , then this brings uncertainty. And uncertainty for business is not a good thing. As I 
mention ed, it makes transactions cost higher not only for Members but also for their businesses. I 
believe that this is a very important thing. But sometimes, Members do not notify , not because of 
lack of political will , but because they do not have the resources  and the capacity to deal with 
notification s. So, we really have to look at it and understand why this is not happening in a Member's 
context. And if it is a question of that capacity, we build it. This will contribute to them being able 
to notify and will  in turn strengthen the multilateral trading system and be encouraging to 
businesses. Currently, we are all looking at how to come out of this recession. So , WTO Members WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  need to do all those things that are helpful for this. For instance, when it came to t he issue of export 
restrictions on food and medical supplies, notification s of a certain number of days to Members would 
have helped because one way that the WTO can contribute to economic recovery and to the 
multilateral trading system is to make sure tha t any restrictions on the supplies of medical 
equipment, vaccines included, and of food are removed. If there are going to be restrictions, those 
should be notified ahead of time and done in a transparent, proportionate and temporary manner , 
so that Member s who need to get access to these can do so. They are all linked together: 
transparency, notifications, ability to generate trust that Members are acting according to the WTO 
Agreements and ability to increase world trade by doing all of these.  
 
Q: What would you focus upon in your first 100 days as W TO Director -General?  
(Australia)  
 
A: In my first 100 d ays, should I be selected as Director -General, I would be very keen to get 
off the mark very quickly because there are a lot of things to focus on. Firstl y, I would focus on how 
to deliver a successful MC12. That would be my topmost priority because it is linked to changing the 
image of the WTO and letting the world know that things can be accomplished. And then I would 
focus on those areas that are likely to be a win at the negotiations , like the fisheries coming to some 
conclusion on that. Other areas where we can move along such as agriculture , given its complexity 
might not lead us to an outcome , but we can advance on those issues. Another issue that I w ould 
also be keen to discuss at MC12 would be those linked to COVID -19. We have had a lot of questions 
on that. What does this mean for world trade? What does this mean for rules? How should we look 
at this for the future? This is not only going to be the first pandemic. There will be others. MC12 
should focus squarely on how we do that and prepare the world the next time to tackle such an 
issue. I would listen carefully to Members. That is a priority for me. In order to understand what you 
need to do, you have to listen. What do Members want? And then , based on that, after MC12, I 
would prioritize renewing the negotiations and updating the rulebook along the lines that I mentioned 
in my speech , which include those issues for the 21st century that matter so much. I am also 
passionate about issues related to women and trade. I would like to see some movement on that , 
even if it is just discussions. We should also look at issues on MSMEs because they are the enterprises 
that create most jobs. I would also be ve ry keen to work on the dispute settlement system. I would 
work with Members to see what we can do. We had a question from the EU about the two -tier system 
and how we would restore that. So , that would be a priority. What can we build on? What can get 
Membe rs to work on this? If we are able to restore the two -tier dispute settlement system, it will 
send such a sharp signal to the world that the WTO is back and that is what I would like to see. On 
transparency and notification s, I really think it is important  because it is what underlies the 
multilateral trading system. So , I would like to work on that. I have named three. I can round it up 
by saying that I would like to see how to strengthen the Secretariat to support the new rules and 
the way that the world is going to see if it is fit for purpose. That would be very important to me to 
see also if the Secretariat looks like all its Members , and if not, how do we make it so.  
 
Q: How do you intend to balance the Director -General's different roles : the manageria l 
role, the role of negotiation facilitator and the advocacy role?  (Latvia)  
 
A: This is what m akes the job of the Director -General of the WTO very interesting because you 
have to learn how to balance those  roles,  but you have to play all of them . We have a  very good 
Secretariat with very experienced staff. So , I would hope to be able to lean on them as well to help 
us see how we can facilitate and move along negotiations looking at areas where Members need 
more support , including analysis. So , I would depen d on some o f the resources that I have to some 
extent , because it is teamwork. I would do that in facilitating negotiations. On the managerial role, 
I would draw my experience as a Number 2 at the World Bank managing a very big staff. The World 
Bank has at least 12,000 staff. Since I was a Managing Director i n charge of operations in several 
of the regions with a USD 1 billion portfolio, I would try to apply that experience to help me with the 
managerial tasks. On advocacy, I will be very keen. The WTO needs to change its image. I will also 
try to spend quite a bit of time on advocacy by talking about the values of the WTO and its purpose, 
about what the WTO can bring to the world, about the new ways the WTO is working, about the fact 
that it is tackling topical issues. I would be very keen to advocate that bec ause this is an organization 
that matters. During my time at the World Bank, the WTO mattered and still matters. So , advocacy 
for it would be one of the things I would be keen on. I have been balancing these things in my career 
most of my life and I think it would be an honour and privilege to try to balance them for the WTO.  
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  Q: In different fora for some time now, we have been discussing the reform of the 
organization , particularly given the challenges of the 21st century and now with the global 
pandemic . What would be your initial approach to the reform of the organization? How 
would it take place and how would you implement it?  (Guatemala)  
 
A: On the reform of the organization, there h as been lot s of discussions among Members from 
what I can see. When I spoke to Members, practically every Member talked about the need for 
reform. But what was not so clear was which reforms and their approach to the reforms. There are 
some differences in views among Members about which reforms and how to approach the reform s. 
Some Members feel that they may not even be participating in the discussions of these reforms, 
that they are marginalized. Given that situation, I would want to spend some time to really talk and 
listen to Members to understand what they believe about t hese reforms – which reforms they would 
like to see and how. And then I would try to be proactive in pulling that together to be sure that 
Members are on the same wavelength about which are the critical reforms and the sequencing of 
the reforms , because we  cannot do everything at once. So , sequencing is important. From where I 
sit, I would think that there would be one or two that would be critically important to embark on as 
quickly as possible , and that would mean getting Members' views on those such as t he dispute 
settlement system , which is where the world comes to have its disputes on trade arbitrated. When 
I speak to business people, this is one of the things they find so important in the WTO. So , I would 
be keen to know if all Members consider this as  a priority , and then I would set about working with 
Members to see the shape of what the reforms to the dispute settlement system could be and how 
we would build on some of the issues or the processes, understand the disagreements that some 
Members have w ith the way it is functioning at the moment and see if we can build some agreement 
on how to proceed to reform it and to see that it is implemented. Again, the rulemaking system that 
I have talked about before is an important reform – making sure that the rulebook of the WTO is 
updated to reflect the way the world is going be it on e -commerce. In this regard, I would want to 
make sure that we bridge the digital divide for those Members that do not have that ability. In a 
nutshell, I will try to put together  what I hear from Members on what they understand of reforms. I 
would then try to organize this in a sequenced fashion, giving priority to the top ones that I think 
are achievable and those that would also make the WTO look s like it is really producing res ults. And 
then I would try to work with the staff to facilitate the implementation of these reforms.  
 
Q: The COVID -19 crisis has demonstrated the importance of e -commerce. As you have 
touched upon on your initial remarks, the WTO has been engaged in the ne gotiations in a 
plurilateral way with this subject. As you know, there are some difficult challenges we are 
facing. What kind of approach and efforts would you like to make for advancing this 
subject?  (Japan)  
 
A: The issue of e -commerce and the digital eco nomy, as you rightly observed, has been 
demonstrated by the way the world has gone online during this COVID -19 crisis , be it for the 
purchase of goods and services, be it for education, among others. This is an area is here to stay in 
the world and I think  will continue to be very important. But in trying to advance the negotiations, 
I would be very mindful of the concerns of some Members who feel that , in order to participate in 
discussions on e -commerce and the digital economy, they need to be able to do so. Perhaps this is 
one reason why some Members are not part of the plurilateral s. So, one way to advance that and 
make sure that these important nego tiations move towards a multilateral track that can involve all 
Members, that can have MFN characteristics and that can allow Members to join when they can , 
would be to move it along in a direction that would be more comprehensive by looking at what are 
these challenges that some Members face and what their hesitations are in order to tackle those. 
There are Members who feel that they are not yet ready to participate , so they are hesitant about 
the gains they would derive from participating. Attending to th ose issues with Aid for Trade and 
technical assistance to get the digital infrastructure to these Members that would be required for 
their businesses and MSMEs to participate in e -commerce would be critically important. A few weeks 
ago, a friend of mine wa s in Rwanda and saw e -commerce in action with women in their cooperative 
who were able to sell 30 tons of coffee and make USD 4 a ton more than they would ordinarily have 
made , because there was no intermediary. And they did this online. So , this is the sh ape of the 
future. It is critically important that for e -commerce, we make sure the infrastructure is there , we 
make sure there is agreement to update the rules , so that this can become something that every 
Member can benefit from.  
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  Q: As you know, the WTO  is a Member -driven organization. You said that you would 
like to advance negotiations and be a very proactive Director -General. Do you think that 
proactivity is enough to advance the negotiations and resolve the problems that the WTO 
is currently facing? Do you have any other particular ideas as Director -General to bring 
those negotiations forward?  (Mongolia)  
 
A: That is a very critical question. The WTO is a Member -driven organization. It is the Members 
who decide how to move issues along. The Director -General does not have the direct power to do 
this and can only succeed through working with Members and helping to build consensus. I have 
been thinking about it. When you build consensus, that means that every Member is part of it. Every 
Member will have th e incentive to implement it. So , we need to work harder to make sure that that 
consensus -building takes place. When I say "proactive", I do not mean that the Director -General 
takes over. No. I read somewhere that the Director -General is more like a butler who is there to 
make sure that Members are happy. Even a butler can be proactive. My proactivity relates to the 
fact that I would work hard with Members to overcome the difficulties that have lain in the way of 
consensus -building to advance negotiations. A nd we have talked about some of these before , 
including the fact that there is lack of trust. The Director -General can be proactive in trying t o bridge 
these lines and help build and restore that trust. This is one way you can help Members to understand 
each other better, to be the one that runs between and carries the views and messages, to be the 
one that ensures that the appropriate analysis is done that can move negotiations along and to be 
the one that supports and bridges the gap. That would be my ans wer to your question – a proactive 
supporter to make consensus -building quicker, faster and with more deliverables.  
 
Q: You have used more than once the expression "update the rulebook". One of those 
updates seem to be in the more permanent role of plurila terals. How do you see that? 
What space you think they should have in the future reform process of the WTO?  (Brazil)  
 
A: This issue of the nature of negotiations , whether plurilateral or multilateral, is one of the 
difficult ones among Members. Multilateral negotiations are always preferable because they involve 
all Members and reduce transaction costs. However, under certain circumstances, if there is a need 
to move an agenda along, one could look at plurilateral negotiations as a means of doing that. But 
it would be in the hope that the plurilateral negotiations could move in a direction that would become 
multilateral , by ensuring Members can join when they are a ble to do so , and by ensuring there are 
MFN characteristics to it. That would be the way I would see it. Plurilaterals can help us not be stuck 
and move along on some important issues , but the objective is always to get to multilateral 
negotiations , or, if we cannot, to make sure all Members can benefit by being able to join and have 
the benefits of it when they can.  
 
Q: In your presentation, you have addressed the issue of special and differential 
treatment . We know that there are different views on this i ssue. While some would argue 
that it is a treaty -embedded right, others view that such flexibilities should be given on a 
needs basis. How would you use your office as Director -General to reconcile these 
different interpretations of the S&DT principle and to ensure that some Members are not 
unduly penalized?  (Mauritius)  
 
A: The question of S&DT is probably o ne of the most difficult and divisive issues within the WTO. 
One has to tread with caution. There are three categories of Members within the WTO: develo ped, 
developing and LDCs. The 47 LDCs are clearly identified according to the UN criteria. There would 
not be much debate on S&DT for LDCs to enable them to strengthen their economies and advance. 
The debate comes when it comes to the category of developin g country Members. As Director -
General, to help move this along, I would work with Members to be very creative. I would look at 
building on agreements such as the TFA which found a solution where Members can decide how they 
would implement agreements, the pace at which they can do it and the capacity building and 
technical assistance that they would need to implement those provisions. A creative solution along 
those lines might be one way to begin to deal with this difficulty. There are other solutions. I a m not 
saying that it is the only one. But that is the way my mind is working – a solution that allows 
Members in a creative fashion to deliver their commitments without the issue of categorization.  
 
Q: As Director -General, what are your plans relating to empowering women in the 
future WTO agenda?  (Malaysia)  
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  A: Now you have touched on a subject that I am quite passionate about. As part of the WTO 
agenda, I was very excited when I saw the Buenos Aires Declaration on Trade and Women 's 
Economic Empowerment. As WTO Director -General, I would seek to work with Members to advance 
those discussions and I would seek to mainstream the issue of women and trade across the work 
done at the Secretariat. In all the negotiations we do, we should look at whether  we are empowering 
women and whether we are supporting them to participate better. There is the "SheTrade s" 
initiative. We should think how we can use that as a means of advancing this objective. This is an 
agenda that would be exciting to move along and m ainstream it in the work of the Secretariat and 
the negotiations , because women own 50% or more of MSMEs. Helping them to trade more will 
create more jobs and spur economic growth and sustainable development in our economies.  
 
3. Summing up by the Candidate3 
The nature of the questions that I have heard and the nature of the discussions give me hope. 
Members are clearly interested in a WTO that works, in a WTO that is different from what we have 
now, in a WTO that shows a different face to the world. I can se e it and I can feel it. And if ever I 
am selected as Director -General, that gives me hope that there is a foundation to work on. Before 
coming in here, I have spoken to several Members , but I did not really know that. From listening to 
all of you and field ing your questions, I now know that there is a basis to work on. And I want to 
thank you for it.  
 
And I really w ant to end where I began. Trade is very important for a prosperous and a recovered 
world in the 21st century. The WTO is at the centre of this.  A renewed WTO is a mission that we 
must all undertake , and we need every Member, regardless of  economic size , to participate in this. 
If we want the world to know who we are as  the WTO, we have to commit. Having listened to you, 
I hear the commitment and I want to thank you sincerely for that.  
 
_______________  
 
 
 
 
3 Under the modal ities for the conduct of the meeting communicated by the Chair to all delegations on 1 
and 1 0 July, each candidate had the opportunity to make a concluding statement during the last five minutes of 
the question -and-answer period if  she or he so wished.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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ANNEX 3  
Meeting with Mr. Abdel -Hamid Mamdouh  (Egypt)  
1. Presentation by the Candidate1 
It is with a profound sense of honour, and pleasure, that I appear before you today.  
 
I came to this building 35 years ago, as a young negotiator for Egypt to the GATT. That was in 1985. 
We were preparing for the most ambitious reform project in the histo ry of the multilateral trading 
system – the Uruguay Round – which lead to the creation of this organization.  
 
The memories of challenges, faced by a developing country negotiator, struggling with others to 
navigate a way forward, come rushing back to me, w ith many memories of how much can be 
achieved by having a common purpose and building trust around it.  
 
I then joined the GATT secretariat in 1990. For 27 years, I have served the multilateral system, 
rather than my country. Throughout my career, all the w ay from the Uruguay Round, to the creation 
of the WTO, to the Doha Round, and to this very day. I have all along first and foremost served the 
Members, and their pursuit of the common good. I have always had the collective interest of the 
Members and the c ommon purpose of the system as my guiding stars for direction.  
 
The Members – and their interest – is at the heart of this organization. Unlike other multilateral 
institutions, the WTO is not an agency tasked to execute programs or field projects. It does not 
distribute funds or mobilise resources. Without the interest of its Members, there is nothing f or the 
WTO and the secretariat – including the DG – to uphold.  
 
In fact, without a common purpose, the organization is lost.  
 
You will hear from many that the WTO needs reform; or that the rulebook must be updated to be fit 
for the 21st century. Or that we need someone to bring us together again and for that, we need 
political leadership.  
 
I think no one will disagree with that.  
 
The truth is, that the consensus, our common purpose, has faded. One might say we are still in the 
same boat, but we are rowin g in different directions. This will not hold. At some point, possibly very 
soon, if the situation is not corrected, the hull of the boat will break under the tension of differences.  
 
I believe that this situation in the WTO calls for a different type of leadership.  
 
This is not a statement about previous DGs, for whom I have utmost respect and appreciation. They 
have all been my colleagues and I learned a lot from them. This is rather a statement about the 
gravity of the current situation.  
 
I recogni ze that I am in m any ways an atypical candidate for the Director -General post. Trade 
ministers and the Ambassadors know me as a problem solver, their humble servant, and hopefully 
also their trusted friend, and the trusted person to go to for advice. This role continued an d even 
grew after I left the WTO. They no longer seek the senior WTO Director but the trusted advisor.  
 
Some might also be aware that I have chosen not to serve as a cabinet minister in the past. This is 
indeed true – and I believe it is also one of my str engths as a facilitator.  
 
Indeed, the WTO needs political leadership. But political leadership is not always synonymous with 
ministerial leadership. A minister is, by definition, an "executive" that executes a policy agenda in 
the face of opposition and m ore often, in the face of other ministers in negotiations. The problem -
solving techniques used are always based on a national position.  
 
 
1 The presentation is also circulated i n document JOB/GC/235.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  On the other hand, a WTO DG is by definition "an honest broker" who must not have an agenda of 
his or her own, and ins tead guide the Members on board to "row in the same direction". The DG's 
role is that of the facilitator, capable of solving complex negotiating problems with creative solutions.  
 
A DG must listen carefully to all Members. Must also be perceptive and insi ghtful and must have the 
ability to sequence a way forward through analysis, creative options, and the aptitude to IMAGINE 
what a possible outcome might look like. Of course, the way forward must be Member driven but 
without proper navigation we will not f ind our way together.  
 
The DG must also steer the Members away from the rocky shores already encountered, of which 
there are many in our history. We simply do not have the luxury of time to waste on dead ends and 
repeating old mistakes.  
 
My view of the pr oblem  
 
The critical importance of trade is now beyond debate, whether for growth, development, job 
creation, poverty reduction or World Peace.  
 
And, remember, trade is no more about merchandise crossing borders. It's also about services and 
intellectual p roperty.  
 
The establishment of the WTO was no doubt the biggest achievement of the 20th century in trade 
cooperation, crafted from history and lessons learned and political will for change. None of the 
candidates will ever question that statement. Nor will  anyone doubt that we are today in an 
existential crisis. I urge the Members to ask why we are in this crisis.  
 
We must focus on the right questions to be able to see the way forward. For me, this should begin 
with how the WTO has fulfilled its functions.  Also, how world trade has changed in the meantime. 
And finally, more importantly, what have we learned from the past 25 years.  
 
In my view, over the past quarter of a century, the WTO has suffered from a chronic imbalance 
across all its vital functions. T hat is, dispute settlement, negotiation, and the 
transparency/deliberative functions.  
 
In any legal system, there needs to be a balance between the "legislative" and the "judicial" 
functions. For the WTO, these are the negotiating and the dispute settleme nt functions. While dispute 
settlement gained strength due to the inherent automaticity of procedures, the negotiating function 
has broken down. This created an unsustainable imbalance.  
 
At the same time, the international trade landscape has dramatically changed, and the WTO system 
has been unable to update its rule book. This caused unsustainable pressure on the dispute 
settlement function, which produced the current breakdown in the Appellate Body - as the saying 
goes; if you cannot negotiate, you litiga te. 
 
The third vital function is what I would call the transparency and deliberative function. Notification 
requirements must be fulfilled, but they also need to feed into the deliberative processes that help 
to verify compliance with obligations and, ultimately avoid disputes. As in the past, deliberations 
should also address newly arising issues that inform the negotiating agenda.  
 
Here, I would like to stress the critical interconnectedness between these three functions. It is like 
a tripod; it must stand on three legs with balanced weight distribution. The system was designed to 
function with that kind of balance. That is why chronic imbalance is unsustainable.  
 
A deeper look into the root causes of this imbalance would reveal that t here are three cross -cutting 
phenomena that hinder the functioning of the WTO: leadership deficit, increasing complexity of trade 
policy and negotiating issues, and a fading vision of the common purpose behind the system. Over 
time, these phenomena lead to  the unsustainable imbalance across the vital functions.  
 
The universal disenchantment with the current situation must be turned into a major effort to 
understand "WHY" this is happening, why we are where we are today so we can see where we want 
to go. I would help Members unpack the issues to provide collective clarity about why we are in the 
same boat but not rowing in the same direction.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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The world of trade has changed, and so have the dynamics within the Organization. Whereas the 
GATT started its journ ey in merchandise trade across borders, we have now expanded into trade in 
services and intellectual property. Today, the way we trade links goods, services, ideas, capital, and 
regulation. That requires a comprehensive and coherent approach by the WTO tha t leads to a "deal" 
that is truly inclusive of all sectors and interests of Members.  
 
For example, I see the role that digitalisation has played for many industries, across the economy 
with technology -driven business models. At the same time, I also see t he rising tide of legitimate 
domestic regulation in areas like privacy, consumer protection and cybersecurity. The interface 
between the two needs to be managed in ways similar to the approach that lead to the SPS and TBT 
Agreements.  
 
And to complete the p icture of where we stand today, we must look at the COVID -19 pandemic crisis 
and make sure that we retain the lessons we are currently learning. The world will need a strong 
and stable WTO to support the post crisis economic recovery.  
 
The way forward  
 
We all talk about REFORM and I believe it is the responsibility of the Director -General, to enable you 
in an inclusive way to have the right "REFORM" discussion.  
 
We also need to be clear on the nature of reform. Reforming the WTO is different from reforming 
other organizations. It is not about reforming administrative structures or allocation of resources to 
projects and programs. It is about reforming the TREATY itself, the enforceable contract among the 
Members, which is the WTO.  
 
Well…...we know that this  can happen only through negotiations among Members - an admittedly 
extremely complicated process.  
 
Reforms will not result from any decision taken by the Director -General.  
 
Guided by a common purpose, reform conversation must not simply aim to protect t he WTO as it 
stands today, but rather to make sure it is fit for purpose, in today's world, for the next 25 years, 
and beyond.  
 
While ensuring that the fundamental principles of the WTO and its purpose are preserved, reform 
conversations should not be abou t the "future of the WTO" but about "the WTO of the future".  
 
Reform efforts must cut across all vital functions, but there are urgent priorities. The breakdown in 
the negotiating function paralyzes the ability to move forward, and to correct inevitable problems. 
We must renew Members' ability to come around the table and engage in productive discussions 
about the challenging issues. Without this necessary engagement, it would be exceedingly difficult 
to get anything done.  
 
We also need to thin k of the negotiating agenda itself. The breakdown for the past 25 years leaves 
a backlog of negotiating files, starting with the Built in Agenda of Agriculture and Services which we 
started in 2000 and obviously never finished. Then came the DDA with other  agenda items and we 
know where that stands today. More recently, other items have emerged as priorities for many 
Members.  
 
The reality here is that ISSUES will not go away. On the contrary, they will multiply. As global trade 
evolves with new business mo dels and regulators responding in different directions, the demand for 
negotiations will only rise.  
 
For the immediate future, we need to set clear priorities. MC12 is around the corner and it needs to 
be a turning point in the direction of the WTO and ta ke it on a different path towards "positive 
territory". I believe we need to do two things: 1) agree on a reform agenda and 2) achieve concrete 
progress on issues currently under negotiation.  
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  On current negotiating subjects, fisheries subsidies come firs t as the one item expected to be 
concluded by the end of 2020. It is crucial for our future to have a successful conclusion of the 
fisheries subsidies negotiations.  
 
There are also the Joint Statement Initiatives on e -commerce, domestic regulation in servi ces, 
MSMEs and investment facilitation. These initiatives address pressing issues of importance to many 
Members and pause new challenges.  
 
While these negotiating items are the ones currently "beeping on the radar screen", the reform 
agenda will no doubt i dentify additional items for negotiations.  
 
The backlog, including Doha issues is still there. You will recall, in Nairobi, Ministers disagreed on 
the Doha framework as a basis for negotiations, but all agreed on the need to address DOHA ISSUES. 
Reviving the built -in agenda of agriculture and services must be a priority because WTO Members 
agreed on this, and it has not happened. Trade distorting subsidies, both agricultural and industrial, 
will also be a priority.  
 
None of this would be easily agreed upon  for MC12, but we must mobilize our good will and faith to 
move forward.  
 
We must not allow our frustrations to lead our thinking process. We should enable our ambitions 
and aspirations to take the front seat and think about "the WTO of the future".  
 
Frustrations are "rear -view mirror" images, aspirations are "windshield" view that looks at the road 
ahead.  
 
My 35 years of experience in the system started with the biggest reform project in its history – the 
Uruguay Round. Of course, the situation now is va stly different.  
 
Since then, global trade has transformed, and trading powers have evolved. The circumstances and 
dynamics have changed. But the skillset we require of the leadership: imaginative thinking, and the 
ability to come up with legally sound and  enforceable solutions – remain the same.  
We can learn from the past, but I will ensure that we will not repeat it.  
 
I share the universal concern about the sense of urgency. MC12 is our next landmark and we must 
start preparation yesterday.  
 
I reiterate my utmost respect for previous DGs, all of whom were my colleagues. But the kind of 
leadership we need now is different. This is not a statement about previous leaderships but about 
the unprecedented situation we face today.  
 
As I mentioned, the DG is not a typical "executive". His or her role in global trade and vis-à-vis 
Members is that of the HONEST BROKER and FACILITATOR that promotes like -mindedness by 
suggesting ways forward and providing options for solving problems. To fulfil that role, he  or she 
must have two legs to stand on:  
 
The first is authoritative knowledge of the system and long experience with its functioning, 
particularly negotiation. The WTO DG is perhaps the most technically and politically demanding 
position in the multilatera l system.  
 
The second is the trust of Members in his or her impartiality. The confidence in his or her character 
and sound judgement, particularly under the pressure of difficult negotiation, and absolute 
commitment to the neutral advancement of objective and collective interest.  
 
I aim to provide the kind of leadership that matches the gravity of the crisis.  
  
I will rely on my long and proven WTO management experience to make sure that the world class 
expertise that resides in the Secretariat is put at th e disposal of Members to assist going forward.  
 
I will stand my ground on the gender balance amongst the DDGs and senior members of the 
secretariat.  
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  2. Questions and Answers2 
Q: You just mentioned that you have ideas regarding MC12 and how to advance the 
WTO Agenda and WTO Work. Can you elaborate on these and what would be the main 
priorities you would focus on?  (Switzerland ) 
 
A: MC12 should address the urgent priorities we have. I would classify those into two categories. 
The first category is the ongoing n egotiations. We need to mark concrete progress in ongoing 
negotiations. We have negotiations on fisheries subsidies which are terribly important. It was more 
than an expectation that it should be concluded by the end of 2020 under the unforeseen 
circumstan ces we are going through now and the difficulty in negotiating in situations like this. I 
doubt very much that this would be the case. We need to look into a conclusion for fisheries subsidies 
negotiations by MC12. That would be a very important thing to m ark down and put on the scoreboard 
of the WTO. The other thing is the joint statement initiatives which are open plurilaterals and they 
deal with important issues for many Members , from e -commerce to domestic regulation in services , 
to MSMEs , to investment  facilitation and the rest. I am not expecting that these will be concluded 
by MC12 , but I would certainly hope that by MC12 there would be a concrete progress marked in 
terms of what has been achieved by then and the way forward, and some vision about whe re this is 
going to go. If we can do these two things on the negotiations, we would mark important progress. 
The other aspect of MC12 is about the reform of the organization. And here again we are not going 
to agree on reforms at MC12 , but what I would exp ect is to have a clear view, almost a roadmap if 
possible, about where the reform discussions are going – and here I mean two things: process and 
agenda. When I say agenda, I do not mean just a list of items , but rather one that has content that 
gives a sense of direction about where we are going with the different issues , because there are 
important issues that require conversations that we have not had so far. But if we can achieve that 
also at MC12 and come out with an agenda for the reform process, that  would move the WTO into 
positive territory together with the outcome of negotiations on fisheries subsidies and the rest of it.  
 
Q: The COVID -19 pandemic has highlighted the vulnerabilities and challenges that 
small island economies face in addition to th e threat of food shortages, health and security 
which are real challenges during times of pandemic. In the WTO, there is the Work 
Programme on Small Economies which has undertaken some work in addressing the 
challenges of small economies in general. But th en it merges small economies and small 
island economies which do not necessarily have the same characteristic s of vulnerability. 
If you were elected to the post of WTO Director -General, how would you propose to work 
with small island economies in addressing their specific developmental needs through 
trade?  (Mauritius)  
 
A: My first step would be to try and understa nd what we have learned from the COVID -19 
experience in relation to small island economies and small economies. My method of approaching 
issues or questions always puts as a first step a good diagnostic view of what problems we are trying 
to face or to sol ve. I note what you said about the Work Programme on Small Economies and the 
fact that it addresses small economies and small island economies together. What kind of distinctions 
should we be drawing based on our experience that we have gone through with C OVID -19? There 
are old issues , of course , that will need to be addressed. This would be one of the work programmes 
and one of the issues in the WTO that need to be reactivated. What I refer to by way of the 
breakdown and the vital functions of the organiza tion I think is relevant to many work programmes 
that we have adopted and have so mehow  not been effective because of the overall state of the 
organization. The WTO is facing the challenge of COVID -19, but the WTO had pre -existing conditions 
as well. That i s leaving it with a huge challenge. I do not have a specific answer for your question 
about what exactly I would be doing with respect to small island economies , apart from saying with 
all honesty that we need to look at where are the most serious problems  now as a result of the 
experience with COVID -19. I can be general with my answer and say that of course problems are 
problems of supply chains and that problems of supply chains concern two types of products: medical 
products and food products , and theref ore what do we do about restructuring supply chains to reduce 
the risk of supply disruption? All these are general questions that are important , but they apply 
 
2 The following delegations also submitted their names to ask a question to the candidate: Afghanistan, 
Barbados,  China, Costa Rica, Estonia, European Union, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guatemal a, India, 
Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, 
Morocco, Nepal, The Netherlands, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri 
Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Tu rkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  almost to all countries. But what is specific to small island economies is something that I woul d like 
to look into much more deeply.  
 
Q: Would you agree that there has been worrying signs of growing protectionism and 
recourse to unilateral measures over the past few years? What should the WTO and its 
Director -General do in response?  (Denmark)  
 
A: The short answer to your question is yes – there has been. The trade restrictive behaviour of 
Members  - and I am not pointing the finger at any particular Member , as this is not something 
unique to one or two Members  - is a trend that started  way back at t he time of the financial crisis. 
We started witnessing that trend and this backlash against trade liberalization and anti -globalization 
right after the financial crisis and when the financial crisis turned into an economic crisis. And then 
we have seen a l ot of questions about fair trade and the behaviour of governments in relation to 
government support programmes which initially started with bailouts for the economic crisis , but 
then turned into continuing practices of different sorts. My answer to your qu estion is that yes , there 
is that tendency. The situation now is not necessarily improving , although WTO data show also that 
there are some trade liberalizing and trade facilitating measures that are being taken , which is a 
very good sign and we have to kn ow that these measures are also taken out of enlightened self -
interest. The most important thing about those measures is that Members do the right thing because 
they realize that it is in their interest. Now , what would the Director -General do? Again, we a re 
talking about a machinery that has broken down and the only way to address that kind of phenomena 
is to reactivate mechanisms in the organization that were designed specifically to address those 
situations. If the regular functions of the WTO in the Cou ncils and Committees were actually 
functioning the same way they used to in the late 90s and before we launched the Doha Round, then 
you would see that all those issues would come before Members for discussions , and if there are no 
notifications, there wil l be counternotifications and there are provisions in WTO Agreements 
regarding counternotifications. You cross -notify a measure that another Member has taken , and you 
would ask questions. This was never actually seen as an act of animosity or anything. Thi s is what 
the system is designed to do. That creates the kind of accountability that would make Members over 
time think twice about taking a measure that is inconsistent with the letter or the spirit of the 
agreement. I would say in all honesty that the an swer to that question lies in fixing the system , so 
that it functions properly.     
 
Q: As Director -General, how would you manage a diverse, multicultural Secretariat and 
in particular ensure a respectful, inclusive and harassment -free workplace. How do you  
view the role of the Deputy Directors -General in this regard?  (Canada)  
 
A: You have just pre -empted one point that I was going to say in my final remarks. I am a great 
believer in gender equality and diversity of staff. I am a great believer in providing for the healthiest 
and happiest work environment possible. I know that I am at an unfair advantage speaking about 
that, because my years in the Secretariat , particularly in my sixteen years as Senior Director of the 
WTO, would testify how true and how sinc ere I am to those values. If I am elected or selected as 
Director -General, I would stand my ground very seriously on having more gender equality , starting 
with the level of Deputy Director -General and the rest of senior management , as well as the rest of 
the staff. In my years of Directorship of the Services Division, I was always so mehow  humoured to 
have a gender issue in my division , but it was in the opposite direction , in the sense that I had more 
women than men consistently. But my approach to this is that I am gender blind and nationality 
blind. I would go for diversity whenever that is possible , but I would have to make sure that 
competence and merit is the basis for  selection.  
 
Q: This organization is now 25 years old and the last multilateral agreement negotiated 
here successfully was in 2013. I am referring to the Agreement on Trade Facilitation. Since 
then, we have been unable to strike any multilateral agreement.  Taking into account that 
one of the principal pillars of the reform discussed in the recent years was the updating 
of the rulebook, in your criteria, which elements of the rulebook need updating to adapt 
to the new global trade reality?  (Paraguay)  
 
A: In my view, the list is actually quite extensive. This system was designed with built -in 
negotiating mechanisms and the whole idea from the very beginning was that we will have a system 
that updates itself as we go. During the drafting of the WTO Agreement, a nd as you all know , I was 
the lead Secretariat person for the negotiation and the drafting of the Services Agreement from 
which I drew a lot of lessons which are relevant to today's problem . The only thing that was WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  predictable then was unpredictability its elf, and therefore the solution for the rules for the future 
was to have a built -in negotiating machinery and mechanism that would allow us to update the 
rulebook. What areas? There are areas that have already been identified. I would start with what 
we id entified: domestic regulation on services and agriculture , and industrial subsidies. We could 
also look at the area of d igital trade  and see how we need to update our rulebook. Here, I do not 
mean to get too technical , and forgive me for that , but there is  an area of trade negotiations which 
is particularly sophisticated and complex. This is the area of interface between trade liberalization 
and market opening on the one hand , and legitimate regulation and non -trade areas that have a 
direct bearing on trade . We are starting to see this now , including in the area of digital trade. While 
technology has facilitated cross -border trade in unprecedented ways,  the regulatory tide is 
mounting. With technology -driven, innovative business models, regulators are going to respond to 
new situations , and sometimes the responses are inherently restrictive. Look at areas of regulation 
like privacy, cybersecurity and online consumer protection, among others. And this is just one area. 
Think of financial services and electroni c payments. We need to develop new rules on all these areas 
that have come to the forefront in recent years , not to set standards , because that is not the job of 
a trade agreement , but we need to set rules that would guarantee that regulators use the least  trade 
restrictive means. This is the kind of complex trade negotiations of disciplines that I am talking 
about. The normative approach here is very similar to what we have done in the past with the TBT 
and the SPS. This is why we have those agreements. Wh at we are facing now is exactly a similar 
challenge , but much more challenging because we do not have the benefits of internationally agreed 
standards like what we did with TBT and SPS. If we follow the international standards, you will be 
presumed to have  followed the least trade restrictive means. So , we need to start a process of an 
even wider collaboration with other organizations in order to refine our rulebook in a way that it will 
ensure that regulators would behave in the least trade restrictive way , so that the WTO can continue 
its journey of progressive liberalization. There are examples that would extend beyond what I just 
said, but for the sake of time, these are the things I immediately think of. There are outstanding 
issues and there are new is sues, and there is a long list of them.  
 
Q: You were explaining that, occasionally, progress towards market opening comes 
into conflict with the vision of national legislation. I was curious thinking of this , and you 
are probably aware that there is a grow ing awareness in certain countries of sustainable 
development and sustainable trade. What is your vision regarding integrating sustainable 
and green development into a trade liberalization agenda?  (Belgium)  
 
A: This question has been with us for a long tim e and we have been struggling with it. Our 
thought all along since the Uruguay Round was : what could be the trade policy contribution to 
environment protection? The situation we are facing now is even much more pressing. The question 
here and the challenge  from a trade policy perspective is not just how we provide policy space for 
environment  protection,  but even how we help develop internationally agreed standards for 
industrial behaviour in order to make a contribution to environment protection. The trick  here is how 
do you do that from a trade agenda point of view without running the risk of having the agenda 
being hijacked by protectionist interests or running the risk of discrimination. The situation needs a 
much deeper look because we have not been wor king actively on it as we should have been. This is 
definitely one area that should be one of the priorities for the WTO. We are dealing with 
environmental issues in an unprecedented manner when we look at fisheries subsidies. One of the 
interesting aspect s of that negotiation is that , while it is about subsidies, what we are trying to do 
here is to make an environment protection contribution through trade negotiations and a trade 
agreement. I do not think this was done before. That is why I think the fishe ries negotiations are 
going to be terribly important , not just to bolster the credibility of the WTO , but also to create this 
precedent that the WTO and trade agreements can make a positive contribution within the space of 
environmental policies. There are  so many other details that need to be looked at whe n we are 
talking about carbon taxes and how you deal with that : would it be by way of border adjustment or 
would it be through other means? What would be the optimal way to approach it from a trade 
perspective? That is a discussion that needs to take place in the WTO , and it is not taking place at 
the moment.  
 
Q: Do y ou see scope for the WTO to enhance its cooperation with other international 
organizations with a view to addressing sustainability challenges?  (Finland)  
 
A: It is not that I see space , I see necessity. I think it is necessary and this is something that th e 
Membership also of the WTO would need to mobilize their political  will in the most effective way 
possible. As Director -General, I would be encouraging Members to do as much as possible down that WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  road. The way I see cooperation with other international or ganizations is that it has to be one of the 
priorities , and not just in the area of sustainability , but in many other areas as well. If the WTO and 
all its functions want to be relevant to realities in international markets, we have to realize that the 
interface between trade and other areas of policy is becoming more and more diverse. And for that, 
we need to have a certain degree of coherence about what the trade contribution can be , and 
sometimes not just a trade contribution to other policy areas , but also the interface with other policy 
areas that might have an adverse effect on trade. It is becoming more and more complex. How do 
we deal with that? The WTO does not have all the knowledge it needs in those diverse areas of policy 
and negotiations. That i s why the WTO needs to consider as a priority the collaboration with other 
international organizations.  
 
Q: Even though you are a long -time veteran from the WTO, as a candidate for Director -
General, what would be your vision to underpin the greater inclusi veness, ensure the 
fairness and improve the transparency of the WTO in the future?  (Chinese Taipei)  
 
A: One of the urgent things that I would devote a lot of effort to as Director -General is to try as 
much as possible to raise the awareness of the Membersh ip to this tight interconnectedness between 
the three functions. Your question relates to how the system is going to function and how do we 
bring more accountability into the system. This is not going to happen by an executive decision from 
the Director -General. This would have to be out of the conviction and the political will of Members 
to make the system work the way it is supposed to work. For years now we have been complaining 
about the underperformance of the system , whether it is with respect to tran sparency or negotiations 
or many other aspects. But it takes a collective effort. Without that collective effort, I do not think 
your question will have an answer that is effective enough – not from the Director -General and not 
from any single Member of th e organization. So , the most urgent thing, the vision that I have for 
these types of problems , is to raise the awareness of Members. Those Members who care about the 
system, and I believe that we all care about the system, would want to make it work. And t his is an 
important aspect of making it work. All the mechanisms that are designed can only work if Members 
actually participate. Remember that this organization is Member -driven , so Members would need to 
drive. There are certain things that will not happe n unless Members collectively have the will to 
make the system work.  
 
Q: One of the biggest challenges of this system is actually our difficulty in reaching 
meaningful results. If you look at your own career and the results that you have achieved 
or contri buted to, what lessons from those successes do you believe might be of particular 
relevance to the role as Director -General?  (Norway)  
 
A: That is a very good question that provokes a lot of nostalgia in my mind. The reality is that, 
first of all, history d oes not repeat itself exactly the same way , but there are similarities with respect 
to the enabling factors that allow meaningful results to be achieved. Here I would go back to the 
common purpose behind the system for which we are all here , because if we do not believe in the 
common purpose then the question is, "why do we bother?" Let me also give you my thoughts about 
the phenomena that I have also witnessed over the past at least fifteen years in the system that 
have not enabled us to achieve meaningful  results. There is  – and forgive me for that  – a leadership 
deficit in the sense of taking initiatives and driving them. This was one of the most powerful enabling 
factors in successful experiences. When I think of that, I think of the biggest reform proje ct called 
the Uruguay Round. There was a lot of leadership. Leadership was not just from one or two Members. 
Even from a developing country perspective there was leadership. I was there. I started my first five 
years here as a negotiator for Egypt dealing with the new issues. Leadership is about thought , it is 
about engagement , and it is also about political commitment and political will. The leadership deficit 
is a problem because without that , there will be no fuel for any process to move forward. The sec ond 
phenomena that I found also very challenging for trade negotiations is this increasing complexity of 
trade policy issues. I alluded to that in my answer to one of the previous questions. The problem of 
complexity is not that it is beyond the intelligen ce of the system or negotiators. No. It is because it 
needs different kinds of discussions that are not taking place. It needs the kind of multidisciplinary 
conversations that will lead us to pathways towards how we can achieve meaningful results on the 
trade policy side , which would deal properly with the interface with other areas of regulations. A lot 
of the problems that we are facing now in international trade are about behind -the-border 
regulations. The importance of border measures has been declining  over the years. So that is the 
second phenomena. The third is : I feel that the common purpose has faded away. I do not see that 
we enthusiastically espouse the common purpose the way we did when we started the Uruguay 
Round. The Uruguay Round started beca use the GATT was facing this existential threat of sinking WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  into irrelevancy. But when you think about the transformative process that happened – that we 
transformed the GATT which was a tariffs agreement not even implemented on a definitive basis – 
to tran sform that into the WTO is like transforming a cottage into a mansion. There are enabling 
factors that led to that , but I will put leadership and commitment and also trust , and trust is 
important. Everybody is talking about trust , but how do you generate trust? There is a certain kind 
of leadership that generates trust which is about openness, about transparency, about inclusiveness , 
and also about clarity of purpose , again because if your purpose is clear, that helps a lot. It is also 
about empathy. We need to understand the political imperatives of each other. This is why I was 
saying in the beginning that the WTO needs a different kind of leadership now. I am not saying th at 
Ministers actually cannot do it. No , not at all. What I am saying is that Ministers would need to adjust 
their mindset a bit from that of an executive from that of an honest broker or mediator or facilitator 
who builds bridges. We are not short of creat ivity, nor ideas , and we are not short of problems to 
solve, but I think it is just the will, the common purpose and generating trust.    
 
Q: Today, you have given us a narration of your trade experience. What are the qualities 
that distinguish you from oth er candidates which allow you to believe that you will meet 
the challenges of an organization that is evolving , and how do you think you can ensure 
that you will meet those targets that you have set for yourself?  (Panama)  
 
A: The reason why I think this would be a job for me is that I believe very much in the nature of 
the honest broker in the function of the Director -General. The honest broker in view stands on two 
legs. The first leg is the authoritative knowledge of what the broker is brokering , because it is going 
to be very difficult to broker deals and agreements without being acutely aware of the ins and outs 
of the substance of what you are trying to deal with. This is terribly important. Even when you have 
conversations with political leaders , what kind of conversations are you going to have when you 
listen ? Listening is the first step , but what do you do with what you listen to? How do you internalise 
the information? How do you analyse it? How do you provide insights about the problems you a re 
listening to and be able to point at pathways and look at options for solutions? As I have said 
previously, just have an imagination to think of what an outcome would look like. This is the first 
leg for the honest broker to stand on, this authoritative  knowledge. The second leg is the trust and 
confidence that Members will have in the honest broker. You cannot broker unless you are trusted. 
I have spent my 27 years in the system serving the Membership , as I said , and I believe that I do 
have the trust a nd confidence of the Membership. Trust also needs to be earned. It is not just 
something that you have. Over the years, I believe that I have earned that trust. It is not just trust 
in terms of the intentions , but also confidence and sound judgment in diff icult times and in times of 
pressure , and particularly with respect to the negotiating processes. Trade negotiations are a very 
complex exercise in terms of substance and process. Facilitating that requires this kind of attributes 
in my view. I am not sayi ng that this would be something that nobody else would have. I am saying 
that this is why I am here , and this is why I think this would be a job for me.  
 
Q: If you are selected as Director -General, what concrete steps do you plan to 
undertake in order to s ecure multilateral outcomes at MC12?  (Kazakhstan)  
 
A: The first thing I would do is to start serious consultations "yesterday " about what exactly are 
we ready to achieve. This is where trust and confidence combined with the knowledge of the issues 
would co me in. If we have a clear idea of what the priorities should be , if we have a clear idea about 
the common purpose around which we are gathering and if we realize that we are on the same boat 
but we need to row on the same direction , then that is what I wou ld be consulting on with Members 
in order to arrive at MC12 with a roadmap for what follows. My hope would be : by MC12, we will 
register the conclusion of the fisheries subsidies negotiations and there I would, as Director -General, 
do everything I can to h elp the Chair and the negotiations to achieve that goal through any means 
that I have within the office of the Director -General. But I would also be consulting very closely with 
all Members to agree on what we can achieve and what we should achieve at MC12 . There are low 
hanging fruits and there are things that can be agreed. There are things that are even backlogs of 
negotiations that have gone nowhere. Isn't it time now to start looking at what we can reboot by 
way of negotiations? Here, I would be intere sted in having not a launch of a big round , but an agenda 
that would have a balance of interests that would bring Members around the table. One of the 
mistakes that we have done before is that we adopt a comprehensive agenda and then we focus on 
one subjec t or two and then we lose the inherent balance of the single undertaking. I am talking 
obviously about the Doha Round. I have my views about why the Doha Round did not work , but this 
is not the question that you asked and I will not go there.  
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  Q: The multi lateral trading system has been in crisis for many years. This is also visible 
in the WTO. In the context of potential WTO reforms, what is your understanding of the 
so-called "new multilateralism"?  (Poland)  
 
A: I am not sure that I am familiar with the te rm "new multilateralism" in terms of what it would 
mean for the architecture of the system. I can speak of a revived multilateralism , but the whole 
essence of multilateralism is that we will have basic rules and fundamental principles that apply 
across the system to all Members in varying degrees , but it is one system that encompasses all 
Members at different levels. The fact that the system has been suffering, I think it is not new. I have 
heard a lot of things about the end of multilateralism, the difficulties that the whole concept of 
multilateralism is facing not only in the area of trade , but across many areas of international 
coope ration. When we say "new multilateralism ", I would ask what would be the definition of that 
concept in terms of what it would mean for the WTO. I am not sure I answered your question 
properly , but I think  that, if there are tendencies to think of different  models , then the system is 
yours. It is driven by Members and I can give my opinion on anything you want me to give an opinion 
on, but I would want to understand more what it means.  
 
Q: What will you do if you were appointed to ensure that the WTO is able  to keep pace 
with the digital transformation , especially in terms of bringing more developing Members 
on board?  (Singapore)  
 
A: This is a very live issue in terms of its multifaceted nature , but also in terms of its rising 
importance , particularly with CO VID-19, which as we all know has so mehow  accelerated the rate of 
digitalization , whereby what we expected to see in five years is happening in six months. The fact 
that this meeting is taking place the way it is taking place now , is just one sign of how di gitalization 
has become a much more important factor in all our activities. Digital trade has been on the rise 
since we were negotiating the GATS Agreement. We had no idea about the dimensions it would 
reach , but the concepts were there. If we look at what  is in the agreements, we will see that it is 
there. If you have an annex on telecommunications that guarantees access to infrastructure and 
networks , that establishes an obligation on Members to allow cross -border dataflows for the purpose 
of supplying se rvices committed in your schedule, allowing exceptions also for such obligations in 
situations where you need to protect the secrecy or confidentiality of messages or information, there 
is a system there which foresaw what is coming, did not foresee the ma gnitude but saw the elements 
that were coming down the road. And when we look at the situation today, we need a lot of updating 
to the rules , but we also need to understand better the trade policy aspect of it, the benefits of 
market opening. This whole pa radigm was based on the benefits that the liberalizing country would 
gain from opening up its services sectors. Your question is about digital trade and so often , when 
people hear "digital trade " they think of Amazon and online shopping , basically thinking  about goods 
and merchandise that get delivered through online ordering. But actually the bulk of that is services , 
because , even when you are buying a good, you cannot buy it, you cannot sell it, you cannot move 
it unless you have the services backbone th at concludes the transaction. What I think we ought to 
be thinking about is how the system should upgrade what is there by way of commitments in terms 
of market opening , because even for countries who want to upgrade their capabilities in e -commerce, 
they need to address the unfulfilled demand for certain services – be it electronic payments, 
expressed delivery, all kinds of services that are needed to conclude a digital trade transaction. This 
is not new. There is a lot of work that has been done on that , but unfortunately not enough in the 
WTO. This is one that I would be very interested in energising as Director -General. I would also look 
very carefully at the digital divide and what could be the trade policy contribution that can be made 
to the digital d ivide. COVID -19 has brought to the forefront the importance of digitalization , and this 
increase in digital activity has also revealed the gaps and the disparities between the digital readiness 
of countries. There are lots of developing countries and LDCs who are not capable  of taking the 
benefits of this huge wave of digitalization. But what can we do about the digital divide? This is a 
terribly important priority in my view , and it is not just about providing resources to build physical 
infrastructure. It  is much more than that. It is a multifaceted issue and it needs to be seriously 
addressed. The answers to the digital divide are not all in the trade policy agenda , but the trade 
policy agenda can make a tremendous contribution by way of how you liberaliz e open markets , and 
also by way of how you re -regulate your market in order to provide for the enabling factors for your 
market operators to be more competitive and more productive. We need to think about these things 
in a new way. We need to think about i t in terms of collaboration with other international 
organizations that can mobilize resources. We need to think about it in terms of how those countries 
who would benefit , would liberalize the right way – what to liberalize, how to liberalize , under which  
conditions , what kind of regulatory reforms they need and what kind of assistance can be mobilized WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  to help them in their regulatory reforms. Here, I would think of the experience with the Agreement 
on Trade Facilitation of assisting Members to undertake r egulatory reforms. All these factors need 
to be mobilized in order to provide for a package of an outcome that would effectively address this 
problem of the digital divide. As we always say, we should not leave anyone behind. These are 
daunting tasks , but the WTO has a huge role to play here. We need to mobilize those factors.  
 
Q: In the pandemic situation, the WTO is being put in the category of some kind of 
comorbidity. I am referring to pre -existing conditions. I am referring here about the 
Agreement on Agriculture such as the issues relating to high per capita subsidies, food 
security and public stockholding. You mentioned the role of the Director -General as an 
honest broker. How do you plan to broker a deal in removing the asymmetries in the 
Agreemen t on Agriculture ? (India)  
 
A: The only way to reform the treaty is through negotiations. As Director -General, I would 
mobilize not just the goodwill of the parties to negotiate , but also  the creativity in terms of putting 
together a negotiating framework a nd a negotiating agenda. There are some intractable issues that 
are difficult , but so important. They are difficult to address on their own. That brings me back to the 
previous question by Norway about the enabling factors. What were the enabling factors i n the past? 
One important enabling factor was the balance in the negotiating agenda. One of the important 
mistakes that we did in the Doha Round was that we adopted a Single Undertaking  – a big agenda 
with an inherent balance – but we did not actually act upon it. We spent almost fourteen years 
obsessed with agriculture. It was not until 2008 when we had the Signalling Conference on Services 
and we had tremendous progress in agriculture and NAMA modalities. And we started having a 
package across the market access negotiating triangle. But I look back and I compare with the 
enabling factors of the Uruguay Round and ask why the Uruguay Round worked. It was so 
tremendous and colossal in terms of an achievement. It is because of the inherent balance. The 
grand d esign of that deal was agriculture and textiles in return for services and TRIPS. But then, 
when that agenda was adopted, progress was balanced. We did not leave anyone behind. We did 
not focus on one and leave the rest behind. What we did in Doha was diff erent. It was agriculture, 
agriculture, agriculture. I was watching the mini Ministerials to see what they are saying about other 
things. All the discussions were about agriculture. Sometimes they did not even get the time to talk 
about non -agricultural ma rket access and tariff reductions. That was the reality. So , you cannot 
have an agenda that actually lacks balance and expect progress. The question here is, if I may put 
it in a sort of very primitive way : where are the trade -offs? It is one thing to say that we want 
progress on that file , and it is another to say that we need progress here and try to find a way to 
package this. Again, I am not necessarily advocating a big round , but I am advocating balance. 
There has to be balance in negotiations. Why did  we even leave the built -in agenda? We finished 
the Uruguay Round saying we will come back in five years to negotiate on agriculture and services , 
because there was a certain design behind that. These are two huge files that we put only on the 
right track.  We said : "ok, that's the achievement in the Uruguay Round. We come back in five years, 
meet you around this table where we will start access negotiations and the rest of the agenda – 
domestic regulation, agriculture access, subsidies and the rest of it." So I go back to the enabling 
factors question and say that what I would do as Director -General is to try and put together a 
balanced negotiating project that would allow for real progress , and not just looking at the problem 
and pointing fingers at each ot her. We really need conversations that are less politicized, less 
emotional, more evidence -based and more knowledge -based and generate more trust. I think if you 
have one, two and three, trust would come. So , that would be my approach to that problem.  
 
Q: If there ever was a time that the focus and importance of vulner ability to small island 
developing States , particularly those in the Caribbean and the Pacific , in light of recent 
global events and the need for continued policy space in the advent of climat e change and 
natural disasters and its impact on trade, I think that time is now . How do you see the 
organization moving forward to ensure that small island developing States are able to 
effectively build robust trading economies in light of that reality?  (Barbados)  
 
A: This reminds me of the earlier question b y Mauritius. My answer will be very similar. There is 
a lot to be looked at in detail. There are basic factors which I would immediately think about. It is 
how to provide those economies with the enab ling factors to bolster their competitiveness and 
productivity. Here, I would think immediately of infrastructure and services. The reason why I always 
think about services is not because of my dark past in the services world , but because I believe that 
a strong services sector is the backbone of economic and social development. If you do not have a 
strong services sector, you cannot have a strong manufacturing or agriculture sector. I always give WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  the example of my beloved first home country, because my sec ond home country is Switzerland, 
which is Egypt. Not many people know that Egypt is number six worldwide in producing fresh 
vegetables. It is a surprise. This is according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. But why is that 
tremendous production capacity n ot reflected proportionately in Egypt's export performance? It is 
because growing tomatoes on the field is one thing , and putting them on the shelves of a 
supermarket is another , and between A and B we have a services value chain. That is a whole area 
of policy and regulation and market opening that I think we need to pay more attention to. And the 
fact that the built -in agenda of the services negotiations that started in 2000  – that is twenty years 
ago – and has not gone anywhere today, made governments and policy -making machineries in 
capitals just forget about this file, that there is something called trade in services and there ought 
to be a service econom ic policy that has cer tain coherence that puts all services sectors with a certain 
sense of backward and forward linkages. That would be something I would point at and say how can 
we help – by way of consultations, capacity building , but also in terms of sincere and frank 
conve rsations.  
 
 
3. Summing up by the Candidate3 
My concluding statement will not take five minutes because some of the points that I had in mind 
to throw at you now were already taken up by questions , to my delight. The only t hing that I would 
end up with here is to say that let us not focus on the future of the WTO , but let us talk about the 
WTO of the future. The profound thought behind this is that I believe that the future is actually very 
demanding and the WTO needs to shape up. It is for you. I am her e because I am passionate about 
it and because I believe in the values of the system.  
 
The other thought that I would leave with you as well - and this is the thought that I lived by with 
my family, my friends, professionally , and I believe that it is tru e also for the relationships with 
countries – is that I always believe that happy and successful relationships do not really depend on 
how much we agree on , but they depend a lot more on how we deal with our differences. And how 
we deal with our difference s is going to be key for the future for any relationship. The way I see us 
dealing with our differences is (a) by mutual respect, (b) by sincerity, (c) by empathy and also by 
being pragmatic and trying to put ourselves in the shoes of the other side. And a lso, the way we 
deal with our difference , in my view , for the WTO would add another element which is: our solutions 
need to be multilateral. Even big bilateral problems should be resolved in the WTO and we should 
always look at the WTO as part of the solut ion and not part of the problem.  
 
With that, I end my concluding remarks and I thank you very much for your attention. I am deeply 
honoured and happy to have had the opportunity to be with you today.  
 
_______________  
 
3 Under the modalities for the conduct of the meeting communicated by the Chair to all delegations on 1 
and 1 0 July, each candidate had the opportunity to make a concluding statement during the last five minutes of 
the question -and-answer period if  she or he so wished.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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ANNEX 4  
Meeting wi th Ambassador Tudor Ulianovschi (Republic of Moldova)  
1. Presentation by the Candidate1 
Ambassadors, delegates, members of the Secretariat,  
 
It's good to be back in Geneva and see so many familiar and friendly faces. Many of you know me 
as the Moldovan Ambas sador to the WTO, others may know me as Moldova 's Foreign Minister. But 
all of you know me as a firm believer in the multilateral trading system and a person fully committed 
to the work and objectives of the WTO.  
 
I have a diplomatic and political career of over 16 years. This experience helped me develop a 
particular set of professional skills and networking, which I believe make me suitable for this job.  
 
Throughout my diplomatic career, I have participated in negotiations on bilateral, regional a nd 
multilateral levels with countries from all of the continents. I have always advocated for free, fair, 
inclusive and transparent trade.  
 
What I bring to the table is my political experience as a Minister and my diplomatic and negotiating 
experience as a n Ambassador to the WTO.  
 
For my role as the future DG of the WTO, I bring a 3D vision and approach:  
 
First D  is Direct Access to Ministers and political decision makers – in my capacity as a recent 
Minister dealing with Ministers.  
 
Second D  is Dialogue and discussions with Geneva based Ambassadors – in my capacity as former 
Ambassador to the WTO – I was in your shoes and fully understand the process of work, its 
challenges and the potential efficient and effective solutions.  
 
Third D  is Driving the work of the WTO Management and Secretariat, so it can better and more 
efficiently serve Members ' needs and continue  bringing its contribution to a better system for all 
Members.  
 
The experience of working shoulder to shoulder with you, as the Moldovan Ambassador in Geneva, 
has allowed me to gain sound knowledge on the current negotiations in the WTO, their challenges 
and opportunities. This understanding of the issues will further enhance my convincing capacity 
when dealing with Ministers, with a view to reach political decisions.  
 
While in Geneva, I was also involved directly in consensus -building during negotiations  as chair of 
various United Nations and WTO bodies, including Chair of the Balance of Payments Committee of 
the WTO.  
 
As President of the Trade and Development Board, the highest -level body of UNCTAD, I led 
negotiations on revitalizing the intergovernmenta l pillar of UNCTAD within the broader UN reform 
process, with a view to bridging the developmental gap.  
 
I had also the privilege to be involved as one of the 4 Geneva based facilitators for the negotiation 
of the MC11 Ministerial Declaration. Back in 2017 , before MC11, and after, I was also an active 
supporter, like many of you, of a multitude of new initiatives which later contributed to the 
reinvigoration of various group discussions and negotiations within this House.  
 
In these experiences, I have devel oped a network of decision makers from the technical to the high 
political level, having earned the reputation of a credible negotiator, capable of technical negotiations 
and political talks, with a view to identifying creative solutions for consensus buil ding and being 
result -oriented.  
 
1 The presentation is also circulated i n document JOB/GC/236.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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We are all witnesses of the fact that the WTO is facing unprecedented challenging times being at the 
cross-roads.  
 
The system requires a fresh/new, innovative, pragmatic, pro -active approach from Members, 
supported by a st rong political will together with the relevant expertise, with a view to being able to 
strengthen the system, by 1) reinvigorating the negotiations within the multilateral trading system 
as to achieve new meaningful outcomes, 2) safeguarding and improving the WTO's two-tiered  
dispute settlement system 3) improving compliance with notifications obligations, as well as in 
general, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the WTO's monitoring and transparency 
function.  
 
All of the Members agree that we ne ed the WTO and all of us agree that efforts must be taken to 
ensure that this organization remains reliable, relevant, responsive and able to deliver the expected 
outcomes for the benefits of all.  
 
In this context, Members collective efforts must be orien ted as to support the system and find 
common ground and necessary flexibilities in order to overcome the current difficulties and work 
together on the relevant reformation of the WTO.  
 
I believe that doing nothing or staying passive is not an option and th e risk of not acting is not for 
the WTO itself, but it is for its Members and billions of people, who deserve to continue developing, 
benefiting from open markets and trade.  
 
The WTO is one of the most complex organizations in the world today, and it 's one of the most 
needed as to ensure open, predictable, inclusive, rule based multilateral trading system, as well as 
- to address global inequalities and bridge the gap between the least developed, developing and 
developed countries.  
 
Everyone can be gr eat because everyone can serve for a better system but serving and leading have 
a different approach especially when it comes to the tangible and concrete results.  
 
Leading and serving for concrete results require a political experience and strong skills o f an efficient 
facilitator who can rapidly build bridges and lead toward a win -win solution for all the parties 
involved.  
 
Leading the most important organization in the trade field in an era of a global economic and 
pandemic crisis would be a very daunti ng task for anyone, it has several important current issues 
and opportunities that need to be dealt with head -on political level discussions, using existing 
expertise and combining it with new and innovative approaches.  
 
What can be measured can be manage d. If you try to solve all world 's problems in one take it will 
less likely work.  
 
That is why, the future Director General needs to take action with a view to bringing Members to 
the negotiating table, with the goal of focusing on achieving results and s core some important wins 
- for the credibility of the negotiation function of this organization and re -create an atmosphere of 
trust among Members.  
 
STRATEGIC VISION AND STEPS  
WTO is a member -driven organization where decisions on rulemaking and implementation have to 
be made by the Members. However, in order to make progress there is a need to have a viable 
forum for negotiations where Members can meet to discuss and reach consensus. On a more 
conceptual level, we need to think of modernizing the  global trade agenda, upgrade it so it responds 
better and faster to 21st century challenges.  
 
At the strategic level, the future Director General should bear in mind four strategic priorities:  
 
1. Engage in every effort to stop any deterioration or decline o f the multilateral trading system;  
2. Focus on smaller, incremental gains;  
3. Get negotiations started again in the WTO;  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  4. Bring members together and come up with a long -term vision for the WTO.  
 
In terms of immediate priorities for the future Director General of the WTO, the following should be 
considered (including in the preparation process for MC12):  
 
1. Efforts to reactivate the Appellate Body, to ensure a prompt resolution of trade disputes;  
2. Build upon the progress achieved already on the fisheries subsidies neg otiations and 
strongly support Members to achieve a negotiated text by MC12;  
3. Facilitating dialogue with Members regarding on -going negotiations on the remaining and 
other important issues.  
4. Further encouraging and supporting discussions on new and existing Joint Initiatives, 
particularly: on Electronic Commerce, Investment Facilitation for Development, Domestic 
Services Regulation, as well as the dialogs of the informal group on MSME s and SME s and 
others.  
5. Promoting negotiations of new commercial disciplines and address issues of the digital 
environment and new areas of intellectual property.  
6. Dealing with the trade -environment nexus, including by supporting Members efforts and 
discussions to create a circular economy, addressing plastic pollution and other various 
trade and environment initiatives.  
7. Ensuring further promotion of transparency and necessity of withdrawal (as soon as feasible 
and possible) of trade restrictive measures imposed in the context of COVID -19. Seeking 
ways and examining roles of existent programs (Aid for Trade, Enhanced Integrated 
Framework, the International Trade Centre, the Standards and Trade Development Facility) 
in supporting post pandemic economic recovery of som e of the developing and least -
developed countries.  
8. Promotion of the transparency principle and the importance of compliance with notification 
obligations.  
 
Dispute Settlement  
The reform of the dispute settlement mechanism and particularly the reform of the  Appellate Body 
will be one of the main priorities for the next Director General. This process needs to be open, 
inclusive and constructive. We need to find a way for all members to accept a two -step binding 
independent Dispute Settlement system.  
 
I belie ve that the issues and concerns were clarified by the members already and now they have to 
be addressed.  
 
I am aware of the on -going consultations on this important matter among the Members. In my 
opinion, there is a general common understanding on fundam entals of the DSU, which is already a 
good start.  
 
The least a DG can do is to facilitate discussions among Members to agree together on how to move 
forward and eventually agree on a roadmap and mechanisms – "agree on how to agree " on this 
sensitive but cr ucial issue and devise a process of further engagement to reach an acceptable 
solution.  
 
COVID -19 
We understand that the COVID -19 pandemic  had, has and continues to have a negative impact on 
citizens across all parts of the world and all sectors of the economy: demand has dropped, supply 
chains were disrupted, investments are put on hold. There are certainly lessons to be learned from 
this u nprecedented situation. But one thing is clear: COVID -19 has highlighted the 
interconnectedness of global economies, trade and societies.  
 
In the context of the COVID -19 pandemic, transparent, efficient information -sharing is crucial for 
traders and gover nments and as I have seen during current pandemic - WTO Members, with the 
assistance of the Secretariat, reacted promptly by commendably notifying the export restricting 
measures imposed in the context of pandemic, as well as by joining a series of initiat ives supporting 
open and predictable, non -distorted, facilitated trade (including in agri -food products and medical 
supplies), well -functioning of supply chains, statements highlighting the importance of MSMEs in WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  these unprecedented times, on the facilitat ion of the flow of goods and services as well as the 
essential movement of people, etc.  
  
I believe that providing timely transparency with respect to trade and trade -related measures taken 
or withdrawn in the context of the COVID -19 crisis was of critica l importance and relevance. 
Members need to seek further monitorization of these measures on an ad hoc basis, stressing  that 
trade restrictive emergency measures aimed at protecting health, shall be imposed only if deemed 
necessary ... and these  shall be ta rgeted, proportionate, transparent and temporary, not create 
unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains, and be consistent with WTO 
rules. In the same time , it's necessary to continue to advocate for withdrawal of such measures as 
soon as situation improves.  
 
In the same context, the WTO should continue to join efforts of international organizations as WB, 
IMF, OECD, FAO, WFP, WHO to analyze the impacts of COVID -19 on global agricultural supplies, 
distribution chains and agri -food p roduction and trade, as well as on seeking ways and examining 
roles of programs in supporting economic recovery, particularly of the developing and least -
developed countries.  
 
Digital trade  has proven to be a critical issue in the current crisis and its de velopment would 
contribute to building resilience and crisis response in the future. In this process we have to be fully 
aware of the issue of capacity and we need to make sure that this process should be inclusive. 
However, I do believe that WTO should be  modernized in the digital world.  
 
International rulemaking through the WTO on e -commerce cannot wait any longer.  Digital 
transformation became a necessity following COVID 's wake up call.  
 
It's also important to be fully aware and correctly assess the preparedness of the Least -developed 
countries and developing countries and their needs in this process, with a view to provide targeted 
assistance to build capacity and assist countries to fully integrate into the global trading system.  
 
Functioning and Ma nagement of the WTO  
Let me now turn briefly to the fact that the Director General is the chief manager of the Organization 
and in this capacity , I would always be a promoter of competence and rewarding merit.  
 
Additionally, as member of International Gende r Champions, I am a strong proponent of women 
empowerment and if I have the honor to be your DG, I will openly and sincerely encourage gender 
diversification, including at the level of DDGs, with high professional credentials.  
 
I was fortunate to get to kn ow first -hand the workings of the Secretariat of the WTO and, most 
importantly, to appreciate the professionalism, expertise and dedication of this cadre of public 
servants. It would be a great honor to lead this remarkable group of people in a new capacit y, while 
making sure that this very high caliber group of professionals remains motivated and engaged in 
serving Members.  
 
To conclude, there were always big expectations for the WTO to deliver, which became even more 
nuanced in the context of the negative  consequences of the global pandemic and economic crisis.  
 
That is why, MC12 is the next clear and crucial deadline for us – as keepers of the multilateral trade 
system – to make sure that we send a clear signal to the world and to our nations:  
 
WTO Members have regained the sense of purpose and direction, managed to rebuild trust and are 
going to negotiate and deliver results that the world urgently requires.  
 
If you trust me with the honor to be your next Director General, I will use my political, mi nisterial, 
ambassadorial, managerial and negotiation experience at the strategic and tactical levels, to 
constantly pursuit to drive the WTO to a brighter future, with fairness, independence, transparency, 
inclusiveness, bearing in mind that this is a memb er-driven Organization, where all members, 
including the smallest, must be part of the driving force and that the DG is an honest broker, who 
both understands the issues and has the capacity to facilitate political dialogue and a DG that Gets 
Things Done!  
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  The time is always right to do what 's right. Let 's win together!  
 
 
2. Questions and Answers2 
Q: Would you agree in thinking that there is something missing in the WTO rules in 
terms of equal conditions of competition among Members? Are the current rules not  
sufficient? If this is the case, how could these rules be improved to ensure that there is a 
level playing field?  (France ) 
 
A: You have touched upon a crucial, existential question within the WTO. Efforts must be taken 
further to make sure that any actions and decisions taken by any Member ensure that there are no 
trade -distorting spill -over effects on the entire system and on oth er Members. Making sure that 
there is a level playing field should be a vision we need to strive for. To be sincere, at this point, this 
is an objective and a vision that has yet to be fully implemented. That is why I believe that the role 
of Director -General would be to further engage with all Members with a view to listen to the concerns 
and challenges particularly faced by those affected, by LDCs and some of the developing Members , 
to make sure that their process of integration into the multilateral trad ing system  becomes 
smoother, and  I do believe that the system has to be reactive to their needs. From that perspective, 
I am encouraged to see the multitude of proposals and new initiatives , include the joint initiatives , 
that will also allow that to happe n.  
 
Q: What do you view as the most important asset in addressing the many challenges 
currently facing the WTO as Director -General?  (Thailand)  
 
A: The immediate priority of the next Director -General is to ensure that there is an inclusive and 
transparent dialogue to make sure that trust is rebuilt between the Members. In order to progress, 
we need to have a sense of vision and purpose of where the WTO is going , and how the WTO is 
going to react to the ongoing challenges in the trade system , in the process economic development 
of Members. At the same time, in order for the system to be sustainable, we need to get back on 
track on the negotiating table. The negotiation arm of the WTO needs to be revitalized and Members 
need to return to the negotiating table.  The extent of how that would be possible to be achieved 
depends of course from the Members. The role of the Director -General would be to listen and to 
steer the conversations , and to try to find that common thread that would allow us to make smaller 
but firm steps in the right direction. Before taking these steps, all of us need to have a clear 
understanding of where we are going. That is why , I believe, in a larger process of consultations 
with all Members, the Director -General needs to start in the first  day of his or her mandate to make 
sure that the vision of Members are aligned and they are moving towards the right direction. At the 
same time, the judicial arm, the dispute settlement system and the DSU in particular , is currently 
experiencing an impass e that affects and has a negative impact on the negotiating function of the 
WTO. That needs to be addressed and this should be the utmost priority for the next Director -
General. I am aware and I have taken the time to read the various proposals – the GC Ch air 
proposals and the Walker Process including the various feedbacks from Members. What I have seen 
is that there is a common understanding that the DSU should be there. The way we implement the 
regulations and the application and its extent are areas wher e we need to find a common purpose 
and a clear understanding on how to move forward. So , to answer your question, these would 
involve: regaining trust, trying to make an effort to return to the negotiating table and focusing and 
identifying a solution for the dispute settlement process and the AB situation with a view that this 
solution is accepted and will have the chance to be rightfully implemented for the benefit of all 
Members.  
 
Q: Concerning the ongoing changes and the changes that have taken place i n the world 
economy over the past decade, how should the resulting changes in the international 
landscape be reflected in ongoing and future WTO negotiations , in particular when it 
comes to special and differential treatment?  (Estonia)  
 
 
2 The following delegations also submitted their names to ask a question to the candidate: Afghanistan, 
Barbados,  Botswana, Cost a Rica, Denmark, European Union, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Ireland, 
Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, The Netherlands, Norway, 
Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Sri L anka, Sweden, Chinese Taipei, Ukraine, 
Viet Nam and Zimbabwe.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  A: You have touched on two major important matters for the organization and for the system. 
Special and differential treatment is the fundamental principle of the organization on the horizontal 
level – crosscutting various discussions, ongoing consultations a nd negotiations within this House. 
That being said, I am particularly encouraged to see an increasing number of joint initiatives 
reflecting the intention of an ever increasing number of Members to discuss and to address the 
ongoing issues that are reflect ed in the developments in the world economy , in particular in the Joint 
Statement Initiative on E -Commerce. Since Estonia has addressed the question, I would like to 
express my full appreciation for the extraordinary results that were registered on e -gover nance, e -
commerce and e -trade by Estonia , which serves as a good example that this is possible and beneficial 
trade. It also stimulates participation of MSMEs in trade. Other initiatives such as on investment 
facilitation and services domestic regulation, among others, are also a result of the fact that a more 
increasing number of Members are aware of the ongoing changes in the global economic landscape 
and the organization needs to deliver and needs to be relevant. At the same time, the S&DT principle, 
its existence and the fact that this should be taken into consideration in any ongoing and future 
discussions have been expressed by all Members. The principle is the cornerstone and the foundation 
of the organization. The extent of the application of the pri nciple and of the commitments and 
obligations to be assumed by Members is where a common understanding is needed. This in turn is 
where I believe the Director -General should drive the process to make sure that there is a common 
understanding on how to appl y the S&DT principle – whether there needs to be a blanket solution 
or a case -by-case solution. I have seen different views on that. I believe that this issue will stay in 
the ongoing discussions and negotiations. But the application of the principle would  be seen in the 
process of negotiation. Because at the end of the day, this is a Member -driven organization and the 
level of commitments or obligations should also be accepted by the Membership. So , this is 
something in which  the Director -General should be  aware of the various aspects and positions of 
different Members on the application of S&DT as a crosscutting principle on various ongoing and 
current and future initiatives. But then, at the end of the day, discussions and the decision need to 
be taken by  Members.  
 
Q: For more than fifteen years, the United States and other Members have expressed 
concern over the Appellate Body's failure to respect the rules governing the settlement of 
disputes. Recently, the EU, China and others entered into an Article 25  arrangement that 
in our view seeks to recreate the Appellate Body and institutionalize several of the 
problems created by the Appellate Body. For example, the arrangement weakens the 
mandatory deadline for reports, contemplates appellate review of Panel f indings of fact 
and promotes the use of precedent or creates jurisprudence. Do you believe that a 
plurilateral arrangement that institutionalizes such problems is helpful as Members look 
to reform the dispute settlement system?  (United States)  
 
A: I have t aken the time and I have become fully aware of the concerns expressed by all of the 
Members including the opinion that you have just presented. As I have mentioned, at the 
fundamental level, no one objects to the DSU including its application, implementati on and the 
extent of various topics with regard to the Appellate Body referencing to the extent of its mandate, 
the period of time, the examination period, the concern expressed with regard to the consistency or 
continuity of decisions and so forth. I have  taken the time to understand these matters and I will 
have the time to listen more to understand better the concerns and positions expressed by all 
Members including the US delegation. At the same time, I do believe that a solution of the impasse 
needs to  be found and needs to be put as a priority for the next Director -General , with a view to put 
Members together to try to identify the common grounds. The decision is at the Member's latitude. 
The Director -General can understand and try to put together and connect the dots. I have seen of 
course the position expressed by the US delegation, the GC Chair's text and the feedback from 
Members. With reference to the MPIA, which is allowed by the current regulations through Article 25 
of the DSU, this was a reacti on of the Members that is allowed by the system. At the same time, the 
core priority is to find a long -lasting, sustainable solution to the Appellate Body problem and to the 
DSB per se. This is something that I believe should be on the agenda. I do not bel ieve that there 
will be a solution immediately or before MC12 . However, what I hope to have is an inclusive and 
transparent process that all Members are aware of , and try to see how we can resolve these 
fundamental issues. The MPIA which was initiated  – and I have read the content and the number of 
delegations that have joined that  – is allowed and regulated. But even with a temporary action or 
solution, I believe that the core issue should not be taken from the priorities of this organization. Of 
course, t he Director -General will listen to all delegations and will try to understand how we proceed. 
But in my personal opinion, I believe that we need to keep our eyes focused on the actual problem , WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  while trying to understand how we can agree on the concerns tha t were put forward by certain 
delegations.   
 
Q: We have a cobweb of bilateral and regional trade agreements. As we all see, these 
ones have intensified over recent years. What are your views on the oversight role of the 
WTO and about strengthening the over sight role in relation to these RTAs? Do you agree 
that we should do it? If so, how?  (Luxembourg)  
 
A: While fully reiterating the importance of the multilateral trading system, the current reality is 
that we have seen indeed an increasing number of RTAs an d plurilaterals as well. When discussing 
the issue of regional arrangements and/or other formats of arrangements , I believe it is important 
to take into consideration their overarching or paramount importance and to make sure that they 
are oriented for a m ultilateral solution at the end of the day , while also making sure that on one 
hand, the respective Members are addressing their own concerns and have their own planned 
arrangements for regulations and that these arrangements are not affecting negatively o ther 
Members, that they do not have protectionist elements and there is market access that is clear and 
non-discriminatory. However, we were just discussing about the fact that the multilateral trading 
system is at an impasse. It needs to produce multilate ral solutions. So , the negotiating arm needs 
to be revived. That has been taking quite a time. From that point of view, I do believe that the 
intention of various Members engaging in RTAs and PTAs as well should be seen as an element or 
as a signal that th ere is a wish and willingness to engage in consultations and to react to the ongoing 
challenges. From that perspective, I think that on the one hand , that is allowed by the system and 
the agreements , on the other, we need to make sure that they are inclusi ve and transparent. And 
we also need to make sure that , at the end of the day, they benefit the multilateral trading system.  
 
Q: In the context of reform, do you think the WTO should incorporate certain new areas 
into the agenda from the lessons learned ou t of the COVID -19 crisis in a way that would 
address the concerns of all Members , especially those with capacity constraints? Could 
that be reconciled with delivering on the past mandates of the organization? If so, how 
would you do that?  (Turkey)  
 
A: I do agree with you that all of the elements that you have mentioned should be on the agenda 
for the next Director -General to encourage Members to continue discussions on the ongoing issues , 
while also trying to merge or continue discussing the ongoing and n ew initiatives. As I have 
mentioned, COVID -19 is a wake -up call. It is extremely important to assess the situation and the 
preparedness of the LDCs and the SVEs that have been affected by COVID -19. COVID -19 has also 
increased the role of digital transforma tion. That is why I believe that e -commerce and further 
engagement of Members in this area would be of paramount importance to drive the process. I 
remember the initial discussions several years ago on e -commerce. The reality today is that this is 
a dimens ion that affects everyone. Digital transformation is important. At the same time, the 
question of capacity building and preparedness is of paramount importance to make sure that there 
is inclusive and transparent integration of the LDCs and developing Memb ers, particularly the SVEs 
into the digital trading system. From that perspective, I do not see an exclusive approach to 
differentiate or to pick and choose which initiatives to prioritize. All of them have interconnection 
and synerg ies. I am encouraged to  see the number of joint initiatives. I applaud the Members that 
have been making the effort to make sure that discussions on e -commerce are inclusive. I recently 
had discussions with some of the African Members and the LDCs that have also expressed intere st 
to engage while having the security that their capacity building concern is addressed , and their 
preparation level is enhanced. Discussions should continue both on the joint initiatives and on 
ongoing negotiations , especially on fisheries which are quit e advanced , and I applaud the work of 
Ambassador Wills (Colombia) on the Negotiating Group on Rules to drive the process to get a 
negotiated text , so it can be presented or finalized by MC12 , which is also part of the current 
unfinished business. I do beli eve that we should not leave any topic behind. And I do not believe 
that the Members would allow for that. It is not for the Director -General to decide that. But I would 
encourage Members to have an open -minded approach on continuing discussions on the ong oing 
issues , while also continuing engagement on better reacting and involving in the new initiatives.  
 
Q: In your statement, you mentioned gender balance in the Secretariat . The issue of 
gender, geographical and development balance at the highest levels i n the organization 
has been a source of concern to a number of Members for some years now. How do you 
think you can specifically address these issues? How do you think you can respond to such 
concerns? At a more general level, how should the Secretariat be  restructured?  (Panama)  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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A: On gender balance and women empowerment, as I mentioned, I have been for quite a while 
a member of the International Gender Champions and I believe that many in this House are also 
there. It is extremely important to take that i nto consideration on diversification and women 
empowerment. If we speak on a larger scale, various Members at various development levels will 
also benefit from e -commerce and women empowerment. Going back on your particular question 
with regard to the Secr etariat, first and foremost I would like to reiterate my strong appreciation for 
the professionalism and high calibre of activity of the Secretariat and its members , that have been 
and will be continuing to provide assistance and will be serving the Member s. That is important. As 
a former Minister that has managed an institution, a ministry and many missions abroad, I am proud 
to inform you of a track record that I have. I have appointed more than 30% of women Ambassadors 
which had extraordinary professiona l credentials. So , the foundation of any decision for any 
representation or diversification , while fully understanding your views expressed in your question, 
the paramount, critically important, fundamental principle should be meritocracy and merit -based 
promotion. Once that is secured , then I believe we can encourage further diversification within the 
Secretariat. Competence should be in front of the table.  
 
Q: In your previous response, you mentioned a couple of times that you will listen to 
Members. But  sometimes, Members' views could be 180 degrees different and opposition 
could be significant. If such situation happens, what will you do? Please elaborate on it 
by using one of the WTO's ongoing negotiations or topics as an example.  (China)  
 
A: I am bringing to the table the experience of both the Geneva -based Ambassador view that 
has been engaged in various conversations, consultations and negotiations of various degrees, and 
the political and Ministerial background which will allow me to better and more efficiently engage on 
the political discussions with the capitals of those Members that have expressed various views and 
to assist to the process of finding solutions. The Director -General cannot impose , and the mandate 
does not allow that. What the D irector -General can do is to listen and to offer the services to those 
Members that are expressing opposing views and to assist them to find solutions based on the 
existing rulebook and/or identify proposals on how to promote certain processes. For example , an 
issue that is important for Members today is the one concerning dispute settlement. The DSU is of 
cornerstone importance. No one is arguing about the importance of the system. The application and 
implementation are extremely important. The role of the  Director -General would be to stir the 
process – not to impose but to listen to understand better and hopefully try to find common solutions 
and also use political discussions having access to decision -makers from those particular Members 
and/or other Memb ers to try to identify, when necessary, political pushes, movements or solutions 
to some of the technical issues. The political discussions would not replace technical ones but would 
be done to help stir the process in the right direction. The Director -General should be there for all 
Members to listen and to try to stir the process. But at the end of the day, it is the responsibility of 
the Members to try to make the effort to understand the opinion of other Members and to decide 
whether we are going to mov e forward. If yes, then "how" or at least to agree on "how to agree". 
The WTO has many mechanisms, procedures and systems in place that could or have not been used 
for a while. So , I do not think that the Director -General would need to come and impose a so lution , 
but the DG could and should rather listen, engage, raise the political discussions and prepare and 
hope for the best.  
 
Q: The WTO now has 164 Members . Multilateralism is of utmost importance but 
sometimes we are taking a plurilateral approach in th is organization as well. If you are 
elected as Director -General, how would you balance multilateralism and pragmatism in 
plurilateral processes happening in this House?  (Japan)  
 
A: Any negotiation process in this House should be seen as a positive ab initi o element because 
at the end of the day, discussions many times are not starting immediately at the multilateral level , 
but they are starting from the Members that are concerned on certain issues and certain topics of 
trade and/or economic development . From that point of view, I believe that , with the right approach 
towards plurilaterals , the end result should be multilate ral to benefit all Members. That should be 
the signal that the Director -General should also convey to those Members engaged in PTAs and/or 
plurilateral discussions , while also making sure that the transparency principle is kept and the 
monitoring role is t here to make sure that there are no arrangements that are disrupting the level 
playing field and that other Members are not negatively affected by that. On the contrary, with the 
right approach, a good initiative at the plurilateral level can also further engage and further convince 
other Members to listen more and to eventually engage in further conversations. I, on the one hand , WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  understand the importance , and that the end result should be multilateral , but it can pass certain 
processes or phases until it gets there. I would like to reiterate my firm belief that the negotiating 
function and the Members being brought back to the negotiating table is extremely important on the 
multilateral level.  
 
Q: In an increasingly challenged multilateral world and facing  other major crisis , for 
example global health crisis like the COVID -19 pandemic, how do you see the role of the 
WTO vis -à-vis other international organizations going forward , specifically UN 
organizations with a trade or economic policy mandate?  (Canada)  
 
A: This is a topic  that is particularly close to my background as well. During my time in Geneva, 
I have also served as the President of the Trade and Development Board of UNCTAD, the Chair of 
the Steering Committee on Trade Capacity and Standards of UNEC E and other organizations , working 
closely with other agencies in the UN system. The interagency dialogue and complementarity are of 
high importance to ensure that all agencies are helping populations and Members to be able to 
reduce the negative impact of  COVID -19, especially on PPEs and food supply. The role of the WTO 
is of particular importance here from the two -dimensional perspective. The Director -General's role 
bears that in mind. The WTO should also engage in discussions with financial institutions such as 
the World Bank, the IMF, the Financial Stability Board and other banking regulators , with a view to 
address the capital needs for the LDCs and for those particularly affected by COVID -19, and to 
reduce the red tape in processing that phase. That be ing said, I also believe in close cooperation 
with the WHO, ITC and UNCTAD – particularly because UNCTAD is a Conference that provides lots 
of reports which can also be a source of information when necessary and when Members agree to 
further engage in exam ining the information available. COVID -19 is still there. The WTO needs to 
enhance the role of trade to make sure that there are no barriers to trade and no disturbances in 
global value chains , especially for those who are particularly affected such as the  LDCs, African 
Countries, SVEs, CARICOM and LLDCs that have certain special impact due to their special situation 
and their vulnerability. Addressing on a case -by-case basis or on a particular group's concerns and 
challenges posed by their specific vulnera bility, would be also the task of the Director -General to 
understand and also to try to come up with certain solutions on how to address that. I believe that 
there are plenty of agencies in Geneva that are already working on that. And I  truly believe that the 
WTO can contribute to that work together.  
 
Q: Regarding the moratorium on e -commerce, we had a discussion a couple of days ago 
where different opinions were expressed on the moratorium. How do you see the next 
steps regarding the extension of the e -commerce moratorium? What do you believe would 
be the conditions for extending it further or making it permanent?  (Switzerland)  
 
A: I have taken the time to further examine the topic of e -commerce and the ongoing discussions , 
including the particular  one that you have asked with regard to the application of the moratorium. 
A decision needs to be taken by Members at the end of the day. I am fully aware of some Members 
proposing for the extension , while others are discussing that it should be prolonged until MC1 2. That 
is the latitude or the extent on further extending or not the moratorium. That would be the decision 
that all Members need to take. At the same time, MC12 provides for a good opportunity to put that 
into question and to have a further discussion an d eventually try to bring the position close to each 
other. At this point, I am aware of the difference in views from various reasons by various Members 
and groups. This is one of the topics dealing with the larger matter of e -commerce. The decision on 
how to proceed and under what conditions to proceed will depend on Members. The Director -
General's role would be to listen and to try to stir the conversation in the right direction.  
 
Q: The multilateral trading system is based on rules , as several delegation s have 
already said , and it is in a crisis with the paralysis of the Appellate Body, the special and 
differentiate treatment and the Doha Round. How do you plan to make negotiations more 
dynamic and respond to the challenges of a globalized world with the aim of coming back 
to a multilateral trading system based strictly on rules?  (Gabon)  
 
A: Since you have touched upon the existing negotiations on topics that are related to the DDA, 
a special approach needs to be taken with regard to the issues that are be ing discussed on that 
dimension. In particular, I am aware of the ongoing discussions and consultations between Members 
on agriculture in the CoA SS. The Director -General would need to listen and to understand better 
the positions of Members , particularly on issues connected to market access, PSH for food security 
purposes, SSM, cotton and on fisheries. The negotiations on fisheries is one of the positive ones WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  which show the way of moving forward helping achieve SDG 14.6 and demonstrating Members are 
slowly  and gradually converging their positions on issues of common interest and of common 
concern. The issues -based approach is a pragmatic approach. It is a de facto approach that will allow 
for the discussions to be stirred in the right way. These all are ver y complicated issues. If they were 
easy, they would have already been solved. It is not the Director -General who would decide on 
them. It is the Members who will decide on them together. But the Director -General should make 
the effort to understand the vie ws the positions expressed on these complicated topics – on the one 
hand by understanding and on the other by being an honest broker , represent ing the system , being 
mindful of what is best for the system and being able to discuss with everyone across the table. I 
have also addressed the issue of trust and these discussions have been here for quite a while in this 
House. More trust and confidence -building would be nec essary. This should be necessary on the part 
of the Director -General to try to address these concerns that some Members believe that have not 
been addressed. Focusing on issues and not on labels might be one of the ways of looking or 
changing the optics fo r the same issues, not that the issues will be removed from the table , but 
having a more open -minded approach might lead to a solution. It might not lead to a solution , but 
at least effort must be made to address the concerns of those Members that are rais ing these 
concerns.  
 
Q: What are your plans to facilitate the resolution of long outstanding issues in the 
WTO under the Doha Development Agenda?  (South Africa)  
 
A: I would like to reiterate what has been said so far. The issues -based approach towards the 
DDA and the matters of concern from the Members on those particular topics , would definitely need 
to be on the radar of the next Director -General. Having in mind the fact that the concerns have not 
been addressed yet, there has been a long track record of consultations and negotiations including 
differences in approaches and opinions. A case -by-case, issue -by-issue approach is one of the 
practical means and mechanisms that would provide for the right optics to address these matters. 
The role of the Director -General would be to try to encourage Members to seek a further adaptation 
of the way they look at things – not at the actual core , but the optics , and try to merge and facilitate 
the dialogue so there is an outcome. At the end of the day, this is a Member -driven, consensus -
based organization. If an outcome is wished or wanted, efforts must be made to resolve these issues. 
The Director -General should be aware of all Members' positions on certain issues – but trying to 
have a more granular approach to the ma tters rather than focusing on labels. Focusing on principles, 
on issues and on a case -by-case approach could lead to a certain progress. Discussions should 
continue on that topic. The DDA , including agriculture and all of the other areas with unfinished 
business , should continue and the Director -General would need to further continue the dialogue with 
the entire Membership on those topics.  
 
Q: SDG 14.6, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which is agreed 
by all UN Member States, targets b y 2020 the prohibition of certain forms of fisheries 
subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing and the elimination of 
subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Where do you 
draw the line between S&DT and sus tainable development for fisheries species?  (Namibia)  
 
A: I fully agree with you that the implementation and realization of the 2020 deadline for 
implementing SDG 14.6 is a priority that is seen by all Members. As I have mentioned, I am 
encouraged by the ongoing negotiations on fisheries subsidies and particularly the ones that are 
addressing the issues of IUUs and I believe there is a n incoming  discussion in this House on 21 July 
to further take a step forward and try to come up with a text that will refl ect some progress on this 
important matter. If Members are to show the relevance of the WTO, one of the targets for the next 
Ministerial Conference in Nur -Sultan, Kazakhstan would be to have a negotiated text to show some 
progress on the fisheries subsidie s matter. I fully understand your question regarding the 
consideration or the optics from the S&DT perspective and having in mind the fact that for certain 
Members, for LDCs, SVEs and others, this topic is also important from the developmental point of 
view, from the economic growth point of view. A balanced approach needs to be taken if we are to 
progress , and a case -by-case approach based on a particular impact from the developmental point 
of view and also from the environmental point of view to make sure  that the commitment or 
obligation assumed is also reflected by the situation of that particular Member. That being said, I 
believe there is a common understanding , particularly on IUUs as part of the larger problem. The 
application as well of a potentiall y agreed text will also be a question that would need to be discussed 
by the entire Membership. In my opinion, we do not need to lose this opportunity to score some 
progress and some result on fisheries subsidies. That does not mean that the topic will be resolved WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  next year or by 2020 , but a common text will also be a common success. And that would also bring 
more trust and more confidence -building that we can gradually, carefully, inclusively and 
transparently move forward on this topic.  
 
Q: The world we l ive in is quite different from the one in the 90s when this organization 
was created. In your view, which would be the main features of the reform process of this 
organization in order to reshape to be encompassed with the world we are living in now 
– a wo rld that is also different in terms of ideas regarding trade and regarding economy 
than the one we used to live before?  (Uruguay)  
 
A: This is also a question about the WTO's role and relevance in the world today. There is the 
bigger question : "Is this toda y a Hamiltonian moment for the organization?" The current age of the 
WTO allows already for a mature analysis of the change that has been registered globally on the 
economic and trade dimension for the entire system. The WTO needs to reflect the ongoing 21st 
century achievements in various dimensions – talking particularly about e -commerce that has been 
seen clearly in the COVID -19 pandemic response and the need to have a more interconnected digital 
trade that benefits all. That is one of the natural reacti ons of the WTO and of the Members with 
reference to the fact that , even if it is a rules -based organization , it is a consensus based 
organization. But it has to deliver and it has show n that the ongoing, upcoming and future dynamics 
and topics are addresse d in this House. So , from this point of view, I see as a positive signal the fact 
and the number of the joint initiatives that are also reflecting either an unfinished part or the changes 
of the dynamics and the way we do business today. This is important. I mentioned e -comme rce, 
fisheries, investment facilitation for development and TFA implementation – the latter being 
important to make sure that the barriers are gradually removed and there is a level playing field. 
From that point of view, I would also like to draw the attention on, and to raise , the challenges faced 
by MSMEs. Globally, 94% or 95% of companies are MSMEs. There has been one recent report 
showing that, because of COVID -19, one every four MSME faces the risk of being closed. That is 
particularly important for L DCs and SVEs and some of the developing Members whose economy is 
based on the role of MSMEs. Further targeted assistance to MSMEs, capacity building, trade 
helpdesk s and working with other organizations, among others, show that the WTO and its Members 
understand the importance of being relevant and to reflect in its work the current issues that are 
different from those of 25 years ago. That does not mean that some of the issues that have not been 
resolved should be taken out. They should be part of the proc ess. But it i s a very complex process. 
To continue, we will need to have a holistic approach and also, if we can score on some of the topics. 
The WTO has been blessed or doomed to get what it can get, when it can get  it. The role of the 
Director -General is  to identify the right time. Sometimes, the stars might be aligned but it will be 
the role of the D irector -General to identify the right time to see if all the small threads are put 
together and then to put together Members and to have a decision that is a cceptable by all , or, if 
not, by some with a view to a multilateral outcome.  
 
Q: How could sustainability issues , in particular regarding  the environment and climate 
change , be better integrated into the work of the WTO?  (Finland)  
 
A: As I have mentioned in some of t he short and medium term priorities for the next Director -
General should also be the ta sk of addressing the trade and environment nexus trying to make sure 
that t rade can contribute , but also mitigate the result of negative impact s of climate change on 
certain economies , based , of course , on a clear, assessed impact on particular Members. The 
negotiations that Members are having today on fisheries subsidies are als o addressing the 
environmental question here. That is also a reaction that the WTO provides to that. At the same 
time, the topic of circular economy and plastic pollution is a topic that is extremely important for the 
Members and particularly for those who  are exposed mostly to this particular challenges. We also 
have Members that are particularly exposed and vulnerable to natural disasters caused by the 
environment. That is an element of their particular vulnerability , which should be addressed. From 
that point of view, on the one hand, Members, capitals and governments have assumed their 
commitments toward taking clear action to mitigate the negative impact of climate change ; on the 
other, the WTO is also an organization that can help and facilitate Member s to react better , but also 
to be better prepared, such as through capacity building, and also deal with these probable solutions 
related to the circular economy, plastic waste and fisheries subsidies.  
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  Q: What are your views on the post -pandemic opportunit ies for the WTO i n terms of 
modernization of its meeting formats and keeping in touch with capital s and participating 
in the modernization through the fourth industrial revolution and the use of modern 
technology?  (Philippines)  
 
A: Any modernization effort s hould not inclu de the changing of Ambassadors with AIs. The 
COVID -19 pandemic has really been a wake -up call for the need of digital transformation. That has 
been assessed and clearly reflected in the vast majority of feedbacks from Members. The WTO 
Secretariat and the o rganization has also taken that into consideration by designing, establishing 
and using the platform that we are also using today. From the negotiating point of view and from 
my experience as Ambassador and Minister, of course, the best way is to have an i nterpersonal 
contact to be able to assess the person's depth of understanding of the issues and try to get a 
consensual approach with a view to identify common issues of interest and trying to align the 
positions. Modernization is something that none of th e organizations today can avoid. A better 
adaptation and raising awareness – I believe all of us are already aware – of the need to be prepared 
to face any future pandemic or risks related to climate change is important. We have to have the 
systems in plac e to be prepared. I have also discussed with many of you and understand that when 
COVID -19 appeared, not many Members were prepared for that. The WTO also needs to continue 
its processes to be able to adequately react to various pandemics and to modernize its format. With 
reference in particular to the efficiency of the Committee meetings and organization of various 
discussion formats including timing and administrative concerns, I have also been part of this 
conversation when I was in this House and I am f amiliar with the concerns expressed by the 
Members. Certain progress on that can be achieved , but also this progress or adaptation to 
modernization should not diminish the time needed for consultations and negotiations for Members 
to meet and hopefully to get consensual decisions. And it is the Director -General's role to do that.  
 
 
3. Summing up by the Candidate3 
I appreciate the opportunity to have had this interaction. The most important thing is to listen to 
the questions that you have posed and these que stions reflect the concerns that you have. In my 
opinion, the role of the Director -General includes several steps – the first one being to listen to the 
concerns and to the questions posed. Many times , in the question that is being posed, there is a 
certai n position or a certain concern behind. The role of the Director -General is to be able to carefully 
listen and to better understand the issues and the concerns expressed by the Members with a view 
to engage in an open, transparent and inclusive dialogue wi th all Members concerned , so that 
everybody feels onboard. Addressing the issue of trust in the organization is also an example that 
the Director -General can convey and the signal of inclusiveness and openness while maintaining a 
pragmatic approach with a results -oriented vision is extremely important. The role of the Director -
General is not to impose a decision , but is to understand all of the possible potential pieces of the 
puzzle and try to help Members to reach decisions.  
 
I believe I bring to the tab le a deep understanding of your concerns on the issues that are being 
discussed , on various proposals that are being circulated around. I also bring to the table the 
ministerial and political experience which in my opinion is inherent to the success of wha t you are 
doing here. I am not discussing only about the Ministerial Conference s or the mini Ministerials or 
others . This also means an ongoing  job that the Director -General has to engage in Geneva and 
across the glob e, being able to discuss with political  leaders, to convey concerns and to try to 
facilitate dialogue and get things done , because  at the end of the day, there is an expectation that 
the WTO needs to deliver. The Director -General also is a Member of the team that also has the 
interest to help e veryone to deliver and to get things done. How many thing s should be done? The 
extend of the decisions and whether they will be done today, tomorrow or next year is a decision 
that needs to be taken by Members based on consensus and respecting the Member -driven process 
of the organization. This is something that I would like you to leave with you as a message. To 
conclude, I would like to express my gratitude for the work that you are doing in Geneva and also 
to express the support that the next Director -General would need to provide to the Members, to the 
Secretariat and to the dialogue with political leaders.  
_______________  
 
3 Under the modalities for the conduct of the meeting communicated by the Chair to all delegations on 1 
and 1 0 July, each candidate had the opportunity to make a concluding statement during the last five minutes of 
the question -and-answer period if  she or he so wished.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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ANNEX 5  
Meeting with H.E. Yoo Myung -hee (Republic of Korea)  
1. Presentation by the Candidate1 
I.  Introduction  
 
Thank you , Mr. Chairman and all distinguished delegates for the invitation.  It is an honour to 
participate as a candidate in this selection process, and to share with you my vision for the WTO.  
 
Call it a coincidence, but I was born in 1967, the year Korea acceded to the GATT, and I started my 
career in trade when the WTO was born in 1995. Over my lifetime, I personally witnessed Korea 
achieve remarkable growth, from a relatively impoverished country recovering from the ruins of war 
to one of the largest trading nations.  
 
But I do not say this as a boast. Quite the contrary. My career in trade has convinced me it was the 
open trading system as represented by the WTO that gave Korea the opportunity to follow this 
development path.  
 
Korea as a co untry, and I as an individual owe a debt of gratitude to the GATT and the WTO for 
providing the tools and economic environment necessary for our development. It is my firm 
commitment that all Members should have such opportunities regardless of their level s of 
development.  
 
My 25 year career in international trade has taught me that solid groundwork is the basis of an 
agreement, and political will is what closes the deal. I have dealt with both the technical details of 
agreements, as well as engaged in fina lizing major trade agreements as Trade Minister. I believe 
my extensive experience and expertise will enable me to offer insights and creative solutions to 
restore and revitalize the WTO.  
 
When I came to Geneva in the early days of the WTO, there was optim ism and excitement around 
the building. Despite many challenges, I am confident that the WTO will regain the hope and 
optimism. It would be a privilege and great task of my life to have the opportunity to serve as 
Director -General, and to work with Members  to ensure the continued viability, and vitality, of the 
multilateral trading system.  
 
II. Challenges Facing the WTO  
 
In voicing my confidence and optimism, I do not mean to downplay the challenges the WTO faces. 
Indeed, the WTO is at a crossroads, with th e broader trade environment undergoing fundamental 
shifts and many questioning the relevance of the multilateral trading system.  
 
We are now witnessing the threat of growing protectionism, and heightened trade tensions. 
Technological advances are transform ing the way we produce, deliver, and consume goods and 
services in ways never imagined when the WTO was created. The global crisis induced by the 
pandemic is challenging the WTO’s purpose of ensuring the smooth flow of goods and services.  
 
The WTO, which w as intended to provide predictability and stability in these times of turbulence, is 
now facing a trust deficit with all three pillars under stress.  
 
Despite much good will and hard work, the record of negotiations in the WTO leaves much room to 
be desired . There has been progress, such as the adoption of the Bali and the Nairobi packages 
including the Trade Facilitation Agreement, but we need to do much more to meet the challenges 
and realities of the 21st century. The stagnant negotiations have had negati ve consequences for all 
of the WTO’s functions, and, to some extent, contributed to the current problems facing the dispute 
settlement system.  
 
 
1 The presentation is also circulated i n document JOB/GC/237.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  III. My Vision for the WTO  
 
Nonetheless, I am optimistic that the WTO can rise to meet these challenges. The pandemic has 
brought renewed commitment by Members to build a more robust international order. I believe the 
new Director -General should be pro -active, bringing energy and creativity to this effort.  
 
My goal is to make the WTO more relevant , resilient, and responsive .  
 
The WTO needs to keep evolving to become more relevant to changing economic circumstance and 
realities. The WTO needs to enhance sustainability and inclusiveness to remain resilient  as a 
champion of open trade for the next 25 years and beyond. And the WTO needs to be more 
responsive  to global challenges and co ntingencies for the benefit of all of its Members.  
 
IV. Tasks Ahead  
 
These general ambitions will have to be translated into concrete actions to have real impact. Let me 
address just a few that I see as top priorities: MC12, WTO reform, and sustainable dev elopment.  
 
First, the 12th Ministerial Conference.  
 
MC12 will be a critical milestone  of Members’ ability to deliver results and set the agenda for the 
future. The new Director -General must help make it a success in order to build trust in the WTO.  
 
A succ essful outcome on fisheries subsidies will demonstrate the credibility of the WTO and its ability 
to contribute to global objectives on sustainable development. It will also provide the world with the 
benefits for trade and environmental sustainability. I will do everything I can to support these 
negotiations and bring them swiftly to a successful conclusion, for endorsement by Ministers at 
MC12.  
 
Electronic commerce is also an area in which we should work towards tangible outcomes. The COVID -
19 pandemic h as highlighted the importance of  this issue. A comprehensive agreement by next 
summer may be ambitious, but I think we can take some concrete steps and lay out the path forward 
for post -MC12 work.  
 
We also need to see real progress on development issues. This should always be an important part 
of every Ministerial Conference, but I think it is even more important in MC12 due to the impact of 
the pandemic on world trade, growth, and global value chains. The Organization should seek to take 
real steps that c an help Members, especially the most vulnerable, deal with this on -going health and 
economic emergency.  
 
Second priority task, WTO Reform.  
 
I am well aware of the proposals that Members have put forward on WTO reform. I also know how 
sensitive these issues  can be to individual Members. A high degree of trust among Members must 
be the starting point in exploring cooperative solutions.  
 
All three pillars of the WTO need to work hand in hand to maintain a healthy and well -functioning 
multilateral trading syste m.  
 
First, we need to update the rule -books and deliver agreements with real economic impact. Progress 
at MC12 will show that the WTO can address the real world problems societies and businesses face. 
I believe any agenda items that reflect the founding princi ples of trade liberalization and 
development in a balanced manner can be put on the table for discussion.  
 
Another urgent, pressing issue is restoring the dispute settlement system. We need a stable and 
fully functioning dispute settlement system which wo uld effectively contribute to the prompt and 
satisfactory resolution of the disputes. I will act as an honest broker to facilitate constructive 
discussions to find an effective and permanent solution.  
 
Implementation of agreements and increased transparenc y are also important elements of reform. 
The TBT and the SPS committees show how much we can achieve by meeting high standards of 
transparency to avoid unnecessary trade disputes from arising. Of course, specific means to achieve WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  such objectives should tak e into consideration the capacity and needs of Members, commensurate 
with their level of development.  
 
Third, inclusive Trade and Sustainable Development.  
 
WTO reform should not be a goal in and of itself, but an instrument to promote economic prosperity 
and better living standards for all of its Members. To this end, the WTO should pursue inclusive trade 
initiatives encompassing overall development issues, a s well as specific, cross -cutting issues such 
as MSMEs, women’s economic empowerment, and environment.  
 
Among others, we should deepen our efforts to help developing countries, especially LDCs, secure 
a larger share in the growth in international trade. We  should fully implement what has been agreed 
for LDCs and strengthen our technical assistance and capacity building programs. Further, while 
maintaining a central role for the WTO in seeking these important values, I will support cooperation 
with other int ernational organizations in a proactive and forthcoming manner. This will help broaden 
the available resources and multilateral commitment to achieving Members’ goals.  
 
V. How I See the Role of the Director -General  
 
The Director -General should bring optim ism and also vision based on realism to the job. More 
importantly, the Director -General must enjoy the confidence of Members to rebuild trust in the 
Organization. To do so, the Director -General has to be an effective, trusted, and informed facilitator 
and a person who knows how and when to act to help achieve consensus and agreement.  
 
Of course, all this will require a close and harmonious working relationship with you, Ambassadors, 
as well as your Trade Ministers back home. The WTO is, and will remain, a M ember -driven 
Organization. We can only achieve our goals if we work together. My door will always be open. My 
phone will always be answered. I will be available whenever I am needed.  
 
The WTO has an excellent Secretariat, and I will lead in a supportive an d positive manner to keep 
attracting talented and ambitious professionals from around the world. I will actively support cross -
cutting projects and transparency to support new initiatives, but at the same time to help breathe 
life into longstanding work pr ograms. I will come to work every day enthused and energized and I 
will seek a Secretariat that does so as well.  
 
I would like to close by recalling where I began this talk. I owe a great deal to the multilateral trading 
system represented by the WTO. To b e given the opportunity to serve as Director -General of the 
WTO would be a tremendous honor and privilege. Should I be chosen to become the next Director -
General I will give the job everything I have, all my time, my energy, and my hopes to make the 
WTO mo re relevant, resilient, and responsive. Thank you very much.  
 
 
2. Questions and Answers2 
Q: What is your opinion on the current situation we are undergoing economically 
around the world , especially in relation to trade? Do you have any proposal on how to 
overcome the current crisis?  (Guatemala ) 
 
A: This a very important question that all governments around the world are currently dealing 
with. For the last thirty years, trade volume has increased more than  the world economic growth 
rate. However, now we are seeing that trade volume has not been increasing as much as in the past 
and its growth rate is lower than the world economic growth rate. On top of that, we have the 
COVID -19 situation. The economic and heal th crisis caused by the pandemic has added further fuel 
to this situation. As the WTO recently reported, we will see a decrease by 18.5% in trade volume in 
the first half of this year. This year, we will see less trade volume and the world will get less 
prosperous and less open. Having said that, what can we do? The first thing that we can start with 
 
2 The following delegations also submitted their names to ask a question to the candidate: Afghanistan, 
Australia,  Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Union, Finland, 
France, The Gambia, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy , Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, 
Luxembourg, Mauritius, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, 
Paraguay, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerla nd, Thailand, 
Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay and Viet Nam.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  is dealing with this economic crisis caused by COVID -19 in close cooperation with Members. I 
understand that the WTO has compiled various information on trade restrictive measures and also 
even some improvement s in trade barriers. We can closely monitor those measures so that Members 
will not increase protectionist measures or trade restrictive ones. Whenever things get better, 
Members  can actually withdraw thos e trade -restrictive measures. In addition to that, the WTO should 
work hard to ensure the flow of essential goods and services in times of crisis , so that we can free 
the flow of goods and services as much as possible even during this crisis. What is more important 
is that the WTO has to start working on the WTO reform in the three pillars by first updating the 
rulebook of the WTO , because the multilateral trading system has not produced any major trade 
agreements for the last 25 years except for the Agreem ent on Trade Facilitation and it is not 
reflecting the current realities anymore. If the WTO can reflect all the realities that take place in the 
world, it will also help business es recover from the crisis and actually take advantage of this crisis 
and mak e the most of the opportunities offered by the situation. Second, the dispute settlement 
function is also of utmost importance. Even if we agree on new rules, if there is no effectively 
functioning dispute settlement system, it is hard to resolve disputes among Members. That is the 
key part to provide stability and security to the multilateral trading system. Third, as I mentioned 
before, enhanced transparency will help Members know about all the measure s adopted as of now , 
and they can also discuss how to further improve them. As a short -term measure, we can explore 
ways to ensure the free flow of goods and services and we can monitor all the measures so that 
there will be improvements as the situation gets better. As a more fundamental matter and issue,  
we need to take on the WTO reform in earnest and have to achieve some tangible outcomes from 
the effort.   
 
Q: You mentioned sustainable development and sustainable trade as your priorities. 
That is quite interesting indeed. Given concerns of the populatio n when it comes to 
combating climate change, how do you plan to include measures to respect sustainable 
trade in an agenda focused on free trade and trade liberalization?  (Belgium)  
 
A: Environmental preservation and sustainable development are two of the important objectives 
included in the Marrakesh Agreement's Preamble. Having said that, how do we actually achieve 
these goals? Our short-term and most urgent priority should be to conclude the fisheries subsidies 
negotiations. It is mandated by the UN SDG and it has significance in two ways: first, it can show to 
the world that the WTO is actually relevant and can reinvent itself to be relevant; and, second, it 
can also contribute to sustainable development. But we should not stop there. I understand that 
there are several ideas going on at the CTE. Several years ago, we also had negotiations related to 
trade and environment. We could perhaps look into those past negotiations to see whether we can 
find some issues that we can further improve or make progress  on. At the CTE, there were various 
ideas proposed there. I understand that the plastic pollution issue and circular economy were 
discussed there. So , we can build on those discussions to address our environmental issues. As we 
have learned from our experi ence during this pandemic, environmental protection is also very 
important. We should therefore pursue both trade liberalization and sustainable development in a 
more balanced way. If I have the honour to serve as the Director -General, I will work hard wit h 
Members to facilitate those discussions. Of course, it should be up to the Members to decide  whether 
they would want to have certain agreements or joint initiatives based on the discussions – and I 
would help facilitate them.  
 
Q: Recently, the European U nion, China and other Members entered into an 
arrangement under Article 25 of the WTO's Understanding on Rules and Procedures 
Governing the Settling of Disputes (DSU). In our view, the arrangement seeks to recreate 
the Appellate Body and the Secretariat su pport structure. In doing so, the arrangement 
makes several requests to the Director -General for WTO institutional support. For 
example, it specifically requests that the Director -General appoint staff to support the 
arbitration pool that is separate from the WTO Secretariat staff and its divisions 
supporting panels. What do you feel is the appropriate role of a Director -General as 
Members request WTO resources for activities that go beyond what is contemplated in the 
DSU and under other WTO rules?  (United States)  
 
A: I am well aware that there are very divergent views on the nature and role of the Appellate 
Body, as well as the focus and priority of the dispute settlement function. Having said that, 
considering the reality that the dispute settlement system  is on the verge of paralysis because the 
Appellate Body has ceased to function for the last seven months, the arrangement of the EU and 
other Members hold some significance as an interim measure to overcome the vacuum , given the WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  Appellate Body impasse. We  need to focus on finding a permanent and effective resolution to this 
issue. In that regard, we have to start discussions in various configurations on the various proposals , 
such as those taken up in the Walker Process , as well as the "why" question posed  by a Member. 
With regard to the resources, if I become Director -General, I would consult with relevant Members 
on that issue. I would make sure that resources are efficiently allocated and not diverted from our 
focus on finding a permanent and effective r esolution.  
 
Q: As someone who has negotiated several bilateral trade agreements for your country, 
how will you convince the WTO Membership that the multilateral trading system is still 
the best way forward over bilateral and plurilateral trading arrangemen ts? (India)  
 
A: That is also a very important question that I have also dealt with as a Trade Minister and as 
a Chief Negotiator in various bilateral trade negotiations. I would like to start by stating the obvious : 
that Korea has benefited from the multil ateral trading system and we pursue multilateral trade 
liberalization very actively. We are participating in all WTO Committees and in their meetings very 
actively. Having said that, those bilateral FTA negotiations are a response to the stalled multilater al 
negotiations in the WTO. This organization has not produced any major tra de agreements for the 
last t wenty -five years. Due to the stalled negotiations, it seems that Members started to pursue 
trade liberalization in alternative, more flexible ways , such as through RTAs. I do not take the 
criticism against bilateral trade agreements lightly because these bilateral agreements are not a 
substitute for multilateral trade agreements. We first need to focus our efforts on pursuing 
multilateral trade agreements , but given the realities of the prevalent bilateral trade agreements, 
we have to make sure that those bilateral trade agreements are consistent with the WTO rules , 
including GATT Article XXIV so that they can actually act as a stepping -stone or building block for 
the multilateral trading system. The FTAs that I have concluded are all consistent with the WTO rules 
and try to liberalize the markets bilaterally or plurilaterally , and not raise any trade barriers to others. 
But still, the CRTA needs to work more diligently and actively to monitor and to review all those 
bilateral agreements. Another important way to increase our efforts and our focus on multilateral 
trade negotiations is to revitalize the negotiating function at  the WTO. The starting point could be 
fisheries subsidies because that is the only ongoing multilateral negotiation at the WTO. If we can 
achieve tangible outcomes and can show to the world that the WTO can actually achieve multilateral 
trade agreements, t hat will give more incentives for Members to look at the WTO as a forum to 
pursue trade liberalization.  
 
Q: Would you agree that there is a gap in the WTO rulebook with regard to level playing 
field issues such as subsidies, economic action by the State an d competition? What, in 
your view, would be necessary to level the playing field in the trade relations between 
WTO Members?  (Germany)  
 
A: One of the founding principles of the WTO is to provide a level playing field through fair 
competition and address an y market distortions. Having said that, whether certain measures or 
issues actually need to be fixed under the principle , should still be discussed and agreed upon by 
the Members. If Members agree on the need to address certain issues under the founding pr inciples 
of the WTO, I would make sure that those discussions would be conducted in a very transparent and 
inclusive manner. The rules were agreed upon in 1995 and some even before that time. In general, 
we need to update the rulebook to reflect the econom ic realities in the 21st century , but in terms of 
the specific issues and measures, we need to look into the particular measures and whether there 
is a gap at the WTO. Without further description on the particular measures, whenever there is any 
need to up date the rules and if such could be one way to promote the founding principles of the 
WTO Agreement, Members should be open to those discussions. And whenever Members agree to 
discuss those issues, I would make sure that those discussions would be conducte d in an inclusive 
and transparent manner.  
 
Q: In your presentation, you referred to the issue of e -commerce and the importance 
of having an outcome in this area for the next Ministerial Conference. Do you have a 
strategy to try to manage to push towards a multilateral solution to the issues which are 
being tackled in the Joint Statement Initiatives that would be of great interest to a large 
number of Members?  (El Salvador)  
 
A: I understand that there are four ongoing Joint Statement Initiatives and one of t hem is on e -
commerce. Concerning plurilateral versus multilateral agreements, the best and most ideal way of 
pursuing trade liberalization and discussing trade rules is in multilateral format. Having said that, WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  since we have not succeeded in agreeing on ma jor multilateral trade agreements for quite a long 
time, Members started to explore flexible approaches such as Joint Statement Initiatives and 
plurilateral agreements. To be conducive to multilateral trade agreements, those plurilaterals and 
Joint Stateme nt Initiatives should meet two criteria: first, open membership ; and second, MFN 
application of the benefits. Open membership is easy. Of course , it should be open to any Member 
who wants to join and who is ready and capable of joining the agreements at a later stage. Regarding 
MFN application, I am aware that there are some discussions on reciprocity versus MFN application. 
There is an example of a closed PTA which is the GPA. I still believe that the best and most conducive 
way for the multilateral tradin g system is to pursue the application of benefits on an MFN basis. The 
participants should be able to provide such benefits to non -participants on an MFN basis. I would 
also like to add another point on plurilateral initiatives. For example, on e -commerce,  I understand 
that even LDCs are participating in  the JSI on E -commerce. Given COVID -19, perhaps Members will 
now see the importance of the digital economy more than ever. In that case, if the plurilateral 
initiative such as e-commerce can provide capacity  building opportunities and technical assistance 
to developing and LDC Members or to any acceding Members, that will facilitate more Members 
joining the plurilateral initiatives and will be more conducive to developing multilateral trade 
agreements.  
 
Q: The WTO will be more important for the development of the international economy 
and will face more challenges as well in the upcoming future. How do you see the priority 
tasks of the Secretariat and how do you see these tasks being carried out?  (Chinese Taip ei) 
 
A: During my presentation, I shared with you my vision of making the WTO more relevant, 
resilient and responsive and to translate that vision into specific achievements and outcomes. I 
already outlined three priority tasks: first, tangible outcomes at  MC12; second, WTO Reform; and, 
third, sustainable and inclusive development. The reason why I am of the view that MC12 is the first 
priority task for the WTO is that it is the watershed moment for the WTO to show to the world that 
the organization can rei nvent and reinvigorate itself to be relevant and to actually come up with 
some multilateral trade agreements that real ly contribut e to sustainable development and 
economies. That is why I named "tangible outcomes at MC12" as my first priority task and the first 
priority task of the Secretariat. Success bre eds success. If we can achieve even a modest success 
at MC12, that would actually build and generate political will and momentum to tackle further , and 
in a more structur al manner, difficult issues down th e road. That is why I think MC12 is a watershed 
and a defining moment for WTO Members. The second priority task will be the WTO reform. As I 
mentioned before, all the three pillars are under stress. If one of the pillars is not working, it will 
actually put pressure and strain on the other two pillars. Those three pillars need to walk hand in 
hand and reinforce each other. In that regard, we have to revitalize the negotiating function and 
restore the dispute settlement system and also enhance tra nsparency and notification s. The third 
priority task that I set is sustainable and inclusive development. During all these processes, we all 
know that WTO Members should be aware of the needs and concerns of developing country 
Members , especially the LDCs.  Even if new market opportunities are provided by the newly agreed 
multilateral trade agreements, not all Members have the same level of capabilities and capacity to 
utilize and make the most of the opportunities. In that regard, it is of utmost importance  to provide 
needed assistance to developing country Members and LDCs to fully integrate into the multilateral 
trading system. Those three are my top priorities if I have the honour to serve as the next Director -
General , and those would and should be the priorities for the Secretariat as well.  
 
Q: Many Members from this institution feel that they are marginalized and not able to 
reap the desired benefits of the WTO system and that the WTO is somewhat lagging behind 
in pursuing the development dimension in th e multilateral trading system. How do you 
weave this narrative? If you agree, what is your vision and way forward for changing this 
narrative during your tenure?  (Sri Lanka)  
 
A: I am well aware of the concerns of developing countries , especially the LDCs that sometimes 
are not able to realize the benefits that were promised or offered by the WTO. Having said that, I 
understand that there are several ideas going on in various Committees in the Secretariat. From the 
Secretariat's point o f view, what is most important is to realize the Secretariat's resources with top 
priorities for those developing and LDC Members. If I become the next Director -General, especially 
after COVID -19, it is more important to focus on capacity building and tech nical assistance for 
overcoming the digital divide , as well as helping developing countries integrate into the multilateral 
trading system , especially during the disruption of global supply chains around the world after 
COVID -19. So , there is the technical  assistance and capacity building part , but I also understand WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  that some Members still have concerns about the negotiation s, whether we should provide more 
market opportunities for developing and LDC Members or should give more flexibilities to them. In 
that regard, I will work closely with Members to address those issues. I understand that there are 
some initiatives that are provided to LDC Members , but I will make sure that those initiatives and 
packages agreed at Bali and Nairobi are actually implemented faithfully and hope that we can achieve 
some tangible outcomes for the upcoming MC12 for developing and LDC Members. Market access 
and flexibilities to be provided for developing and LDC Members need to be further discussed and 
agreed upon by Members. What  I could assure you is that, as I mentioned before, I have personally 
witnessed Korea 's grow from a reservoir and become one of the largest trading nations through the 
market opportunities provided by the WTO. I am also well aware that the world has signif icantly 
changed and it is harder to join the global supply chains given the slow rate of economic growth and 
of trade growth. That being the case, it is better to focus on the particular needs and opportunities 
that can be utilised by particular developing  and LDC Members with a more tailored and targeted 
approach. I will make sure that the Secretariat together with Members could work to help developing 
and LDC Members integrate into the multilateral trading system.  
 
Q: How do you see the role of the Direct or-General when it comes to fighting and 
tackling protectionist measures , as well as the resort to unilateral measures?  (Spain)  
 
A: In my view, the Director -General in this Member -driven organization serves as a facilitator. A 
facilitator can play a lot of  roles. So , I will serve as an effective, informed and trusted facilitator and 
I will make utmost efforts to own the trust and confidence from Members by working closely with 
them. Having said that, the question was about protectionism and unilateralism. T his needs to be 
discussed at each Committee or Working Group by Members. The WTO Agreements provide a lot of 
rules to tackle these issues. Each Committee needs to work diligently to address these issues and 
find a way to fix this situation. If we look at t he reasons behind protectionism and unilateralism, if 
those measures stem from some frustration about the stalled negotiations at the WTO, we need to 
make sure to revitalize the WTO's negotiating function. In some sense, because of this stalled 
negotiating  function, Members take different approaches. One of the examples is multilateral versus 
plurilateral approach. Another issue was raised by India regarding bilateral FTAs and RTAs. Perhaps 
the least ideal or desirable way would be unilateralism. If we can revitalize the functioning of the 
WTO and  if the WTO multilateral trading system can provide rules to address all those issues at the 
Committee and at the Working Groups , we can fix and discuss those issues among ourselves. I will 
help, as an informed, tru sted and effective facilitator leveraging my expertise and experience in 
concluding deals with many diverse Members around the world, to revitalize the negotiating function 
and to deal with those issues at each WTO Council and Committee.  
 
Q: The COVID -19 c risis has put the spotlight on the role of public stockholding 
programmes and export restrictions for food security purposes. In your view, how can a 
balance be established between public stockholding and food security on the one hand 
and the avoidance of unnecessary trade restrictions on the other?  (Qatar)  
 
A: I would still look at the WTO Agreements as they provide certain room for legitimate 
government al policy objectives. During this pandemic, not only on food products but also on some 
medical supplies,  a lot of countries started to impose certain measures. But if those measures are 
temporary, transparent and proportionate and if they are for public health and safety, those are 
allowed under the WTO Agreements. Members need to work hard to use these meas ures within the 
parameters provided by the WTO Agreements. Having said that, food security in relation to public 
stockholding programmes is also an ongoing issue at the WTO. I hope that we could achieve some 
tangible outcomes on this and other agriculture -related issues before MC12 , so that we can make 
further progress in this important matter.  
 
Q: Concerning the role of the Director -General and of the Chair of the TNC, to which 
extent would you rely on Members driving the organization and to which extent would 
you propose solutions which you create yourself?  (Lithuania)  
 
A: I understand that the Director -General also serves as the Chair of the TNC. In this regard, I 
would closely work with the Chair of the General Council to make progress on the negotiatio ns. How 
much active should I be in this role? As a facilitator, I can propose very creative ideas and solutions , 
but, still, it is a Member -driven organization. In a very informal setting, if I could detect certain 
common concerns and interests and could f ind a way to actually resolve those interests and concerns 
behind their official positions, I would probably informally suggest it , but I would be careful not to WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  force those Members to consider certain ideas , because this is a Member -driven organization. T he 
Secretariat is supposed to provide top quality technical support to assist Members. On my part, I 
will tap into my expertise and experience in various negotiations and I will help Members get out of 
their comfort zone and have some out -of-the-box thinking whenever possible , but in a more 
facilitating way and in a more informal setting to ensure that Members themsel ves are the ones that 
are taking charge of the issues and of new ideas.  
 
Q: How do you plan on increasing the participation of developing countries at this 
turning point and , as Director -General, what will your view be on the Doha Development 
Agenda?  (Gabo n) 
 
A: Development is also the central part of the WTO agenda and negotiations. The DDA items 
were agreed upon twenty years ago. Some of them have already been harvested in Bali and in 
Nairobi. Among DDA items, if those agenda items are still relevant and have some convergence 
among the Members, Members need to look at those agenda items and should make progress to 
achieve tangible outcomes. One of the good examples is the fisheries subsidies. It is one of the DDA 
items and we are working hard to meet the w orking deadline of end of this year as mandated by the 
UN SDG. If those agenda items are relevant and have some convergence among the Members on 
achieving some concrete and tangible outcomes, Members could work hard toward them. As the 
DDA was agreed upon twenty years ago, if there are any new and emerging issues beyond this 
mandate, Members should be able to look at those issues and discuss them , especially if they are 
relevant and have some convergence among Members. With regard to helping developing and LDC 
Members integrat ing into the multilateral trading system at this very turning point, I would repeat 
the points that I said before. Capacity building and technical assistance are important , especially 
after COVID -19. The Secretariat should be able to pr ovide technical assistance and capacity building 
opportunities , especially to deal with the digital divide and global supply chain disruptions. 
Sometimes, crisis and difficulties come together with opportunities. During global supply chain 
disruptions, dev eloping and LDC Members could find an opportunity to make the most of these 
disruptions and find a way to join the global supply chain system. If I will have the honour of 
becoming the next Director -General, I will make sure that developing and LDC Members  could cope 
with this global crisis very successfully, make the most of these opportunities and further develop 
their economies.  
 
Q: Africa is a continent that has realized a disproportionately smaller regional 
integration – at about 15% intraregional trad e and a declining share in world exports 
from 3.5% in 2008 to 2.5% in 2018 . Despite this, Africa remains the frontier of growth 
now and in the future. There is an ambitious continental integration agenda espoused by 
the African Continental Free Trade Area.  As Director -General, what role do you perceive 
the WTO playing to help drive Africa's integration agenda for the African countries that 
are Members of the WTO?  (Botswana)  
 
A: Although RTAs are not a substitute for multilateral trade agreements, they can s erve as a 
building block for trade liberalization and further integration into the multilateral trading system. I 
am very much aware of the AfCFTA and more than a quarter of the WTO Members are part of it. The 
Secretariat has built up institutional experti se during its assistance to the CRTA. With regard to how 
further promote regional integration through this kind of agreement s and what would be the best 
way to pursue trade liberalization – but at the same time also pursue sustainable development and 
econo mic cooperation through this RTA  – the Secretariat , based on its institutional expertise built 
up in the CRTA , could provide technical assistance and capacity building opportunities to African 
Members. Having said that, the multilateral trade format is the  best way to pursue trade 
liberalization. Together with Members, the Secretariat can help African Members to pursue this 
agreement in a more consistent manner with the WTO , so that it can be more helpful to integrate 
into the multilateral trading rules.  
 
Q: You have mentioned quite a lot of priorities and you have mentioned some more in 
your response to the previous questions. What would be, in your view, the most important 
factor to get stuff done to make those priorities become deliverables?  (China)  
 
A: It is important to rebuild trust among Members. I came to this building in 1996 when there 
was optimism and excitement about the multilateral trading system. When I attended the first 
Ministerial Conference in Sentosa Island in Singapore, we were very hopef ul. We were discussing 
the outcomes and implementation of the past two years , but at the same time we were discussing WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  the future of the WTO. Now, trust deficit is prevalent around this building. Members do not trust 
each other. Members do not trust that we  can actually deliver on our mandate. My first and utmost 
priority will be to rebuild trust. I have set out all those priority tasks , but if we do not have the trust, 
I am sure we will be on the same page again and again. To do that, I will tap into my exp erience as 
a negotiator and as Trade Minister in one of the most dynamic countries. During my twenty -five-
year career in trade, my country itself has gone through every stage of development. I think I am 
better positioned to understand all the Members because we have been there – I have been there. 
Based on my own experience and expertise, I will try to rebuild trust among Members. I am confident 
that I can do that because during my career, I believe that I earned trust from my counterparts 
around the world regardless of the levels of economic development , from LDCs to developed 
countries , and regardless of regional grouping s. The most important factor would be to rebuild trust 
to actually achieve all those priority tasks.    
 
Q: In light of our vulnerability, the issue of climate change and trade , and by extension 
natural disasters and trade , are of critical importance to us. What do you see is the role 
of the organization in ensuring that small island developing States like Barbados have 
continu ed space to manoeuvre  in light of this vulnerability?  (Barbados)  
 
A: Small and vulnerable economies are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. We have 
learned the lesson from this pandemic. Whenever a disaster or a crisis happens, it is always better 
to prepare before rather that to deal with the disaster or crisis a fter it happens. This pandemic has 
taught a lesson to us that it is all the more important to prepare for any natural disaster. In that 
regard, it is important to provide capacity building programmes and technical assistance to small 
and vulnerable economi es. At the same time, it should not be the concern only for SVEs. Other 
Members should work together to promote environmental preservation , and also to tackle 
environmental issues. I would make sure that the relevant discussions on environment that are 
currently ongoing in the CTE and in other Committees could make progress to deal with those issues. 
Having said that, I also understand that there is an initiative proposed by the SVEs and I hope that 
we can achieve tangible outcomes at MC12 to build resilien ce of SVEs , particularly with regard to 
natural disasters.  
 
Q: You are well aware that special and differential treatment is an integral part of the 
multilateral trading system and the WTO. What are your views on S&DT on the current 
discussions now in the WTO and what is your plan to bridge these differences?  (Malaysia)  
 
A: The Preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement recognizes the need to ensure that developing 
countries , especially the LDCs , secure their share in global growth commensurate to their economic 
development needs. Whether current S&DT provisions are enough to ensure th at LDCs and 
developing countries secure their share in global growth is still up to the Members to decide. But I 
am aware of the discussions that those S&DT provisions and measures ne ed to be effective and 
operational. I will make sure that those discussions are going smoothly if I become the Director -
General. Having said that, I also understand there is another discussion on S&DT on whether we 
should provide S&DT to th ose Members that self-declare themselves as developing countries. It is a 
very contentious issue and it is up to Members to decide what kind of agreement they would reach 
and what kind of criteria to apply. I would just like to emphasize that we still need to focus on 
providing assistance to the LDCs , because they really need flexibilities and benefits from the WTO 
Agreements , so that they can fully integrate into the multilateral trading system. The world has 
changed and countries might have changed , but, still, it is up to the Members to decide what kind 
of agreements they are going to make and apply to developing countries. Until there is an agreement 
on that issue, it might be more helpful to take a practical approach , so that Members can take on 
their responsibilities and also receive their benefits commensurate with their economic weight in the 
global trading system.  
 
Q: What is your comment to the assertions that the WTO Green Room Processes 
involving small consultations with a few countries are not inclusive and not transparent , 
especially at Ministerial Conferences – that most developing country Members are 
effectively excluded from the decision -making process and are then presented with a 
"take it or leave it " package at the final moment of the Conference? As you kn ow, at the 
final moment, Members can only reject this at the risk of collapsing the Conference.  
(Zimbabwe)  
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  A: In the WTO, decisions are made by consensus. I still see the merits and believe in the 
consensus decision -making system at the WTO. At the end of the day, the WTO will produce binding 
agreements and it needs the full commitment and agreement of all Members in taking on 
responsibilities in this regard. So , consensus decision -making is the best and most ideal way. Having 
said that, I am not sure of  what kind of small room decision -making process you are talking about , 
but if I become the Director -General, I would make sure that all the discussions and negotiations 
are conducted in an inclusive and transparent manner. To ensure all the Members' commi tment, it 
is of utmost importance to conduct meetings and negotiations in a transparent and inclusive manner.  
 
 
3. Summing up by the Candidate3 
I spent the past few days meeting with Ambassadors and delegates in Geneva. When I listen to your 
views, together with the questions today, it seems that there are diverse views and priorities of 
Members – whether it concerns the negotiations, how to pursue development objectives and special 
and differential treatment, the plurilaterals or restoring the Appellate Body  function. So , how can 
we, a dynamic group of 164 Members with different social and economic environments, come to an 
agreement? This brings me back to my original message. We need to rebuild trust in the WTO. How? 
Amid these divergent and different views of Members, I would share the commitment and hope to 
restoring and revitalizing the WTO.  
 
This pandemic has forced us to reflect upon what is needed from the multilateral trading system. 
Despite the current challenges, I have a firm belief in the multilat eral trading system and what we 
can actually achieve in the future if we put our heads together and also our hearts into it. We are 
embarking on a new journey towards a new chapter for the WTO. Building on the past twenty -five 
years, when we embark on the new journey for the next twenty -five years, I am ready to provide a 
new leadership that will harness all the frustrations but most importantly all the hopes from Members 
to make the WTO more relevant, resilient and responsive for the next twenty -five years  and beyond.  
 
_______________  
 
3 Under the modalities for the conduct of the meeting communicated by the Chair to all delegations on 1 
and 1 0 July, each candidate had the opportunity to make a concluding statement during the last five  minutes of 
the question -and-answer period if  she or he so wished.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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ANNEX 6  
Meeting with Ambassador Amina C. Mohamed (Republic of Kenya)  
1. Presentation by the Candidate1 
Mr. Chairman, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,  
 
1. Let me first of all express my solidarity and support to all the people you represent as they 
work to manage and recover from the COVID -19 pandemic and its consequences. I reach out 
particularly to those who have lost loved ones and friends.  
2. It is an honour  and a pleasure to be back in the WTO with you today and to be meeting with 
the Members. I know that for many of you dialing in, this virtual meeting format is a challenge, but 
I am grateful to those who have worked to make it possible. I would also like to take this opportunity 
to rec ognize the outgoing WTO Director -General Roberto Azevedo for all of his hard work over the 
past seven years.  
3. I am here to talk to you about how I would like to contribute to the WTO as Director General 
and, equally importantly, to listen to you and respon d to your questions.  
4. Let me start by setting out the three main themes of my vision for the WTO: Reform, Recovery, 
Renewal. The WTO needs urgent reforms so it can once again play its full part as an engine of 
growth, development and stability. Reform is al l the more urgent because an effective WTO is needed 
to help create the conditions for a sustainable recovery from the economic fallout of the COVID -19 
pandemic. And looking further ahead, the WTO needs to renew its capacity to negotiate and to 
develop new  trade rules and disciplines for the challenges of the very near future.  
5. Let's reaffirm a basic truth.  The WTO is the indispensable backbone of international trade 
cooperation. Imagine a world without it. All economies would suffer, even the largest.  
6. This vital system is being tested as never before. The WTO was already in difficulties before 
COVID -19 struck. Its negotiating function had faltered, with only limited successes in the last twenty -
five years, despite the launch of the Doha Round o f negotiations at the beginning of the century. 
Trade tensions have increased and the dispute settlement system has been compromised. There is 
widespread acknowledgment among WTO Members that the WTO is in need of urgent reform.  
7. Now, COVID -19 is likely to  trigger the most severe economic contraction since the Great 
Depression. No country is in a position to manage the COVID -19 crisis alone. That holds particularly 
true for trade, which is forecast to contract by as much as one -third in the worst -case scena rio. 
History tells us how the stifling of trade through protectionist reactions made the Great Depression 
of the 1930s last longer and cut deeper. The GATT and subsequently the WTO were established 
precisely to prevent such mutually destructive behavior .  
8. It is our duty to make sure that the multilateral trading system is allowed to do the work for 
which it was established. Over the years since the founding of GATT, many more Members have 
joined the ranks of the multilateral trading system. Not only are the re more of us, but we work today 
in a much more complex and integrated world economy. That intensified interdependence makes 
effective cooperation more vital than ever before.  
9. We need to recapture the visionary inspiration of the original architects of the  system. 
Governments must breathe new life into the WTO so it can play a key role in helping recovery from 
the crisis and in rebuilding economic resilience. Reviving trade is essential to recovery worldwide, to 
boosting growth and sustainable development, and to easing the social and economic impact of the 
crisis.  
 
1 The presentation is also circulated i n document JOB/GC/238.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  10. Once recovery is under way, however, we will still face the need to update the trading system 
to take account of crucial global issues, issues like climate change, the digital revolution, poverty 
and sustainable development. The WTO should be where governments come together to co -operate 
on formulating the best trade policy responses, sharing best practices, and reaffirming key principles.  
11. We need to reform the WTO to ensure that it makes a positi ve contribution to the global 
economy and to the development of its Members, that it supports our shared environmental 
objectives as we seek to build a sustainable world. The WTO can help to promote sustainable value 
chains, and encourage the diffusion and  adoption of the latest environmental technologies. In short, 
the WTO must ensure that sustainability is a core consideration in its future work.  
12. You do not all share the same reform priorities. This makes it essential to work together for 
convergence arou nd elements that all can support. We need to break the cycle of despair and enter 
into a new phase of hope and realism.  
13.  Renewal has to start with facing up to the defects that have weakened the system in recent 
years: the inability to update rules to ref lect the changing realities of how trade is conducted; the 
sterility of ideological standoffs; the retreat into defensiveness; and the sense of the benefits of 
trade not being equitably shared.  
14. The WTO has to engage again in good faith negotiations, and t his means openness to change 
and to new ideas, within a culture of inclusiveness and transparency.  
15. Renewal should also build upon the WTO 's core values and achievements. Trade has been 
transformational. It has helped to lift close to 1 billion people out of poverty and facilitated the 
attainment of higher living standards in countries at all levels of development. These successes were 
possible because Members did not see trade as a zero -sum game. They understood that trade -offs 
were needed to produce outco mes. All Members should contribute to trade opening and facilitation 
efforts, especially those most in a position to do so.  
16. Bilateral and regional trade agreements can bring important benefits, especially where 
localized interests relevant to near neighbor s are at stake. The African Continental Free Trade Area, 
for example, will not only foster new trading opportunities, it will also play a valuable role in 
improving infrastructure and bringing the continent together. But a trading world of overlapping 
preferential arrangements among subsets of economies, of which there are over 300, cannot be a 
substitute for the rules  based multilateral trading system.  
17. The WTO 's dispute settlement function is key to the credibility and effectiveness of the rules. 
We need to find a way through its problems to make it once again an instrument that all Members 
can use with confidence.  
18. We need a WTO that is fair and equitable, taking into account the level of economic 
development of each member. All WTO Members must be prepar ed to contribute to improving and 
strengthening the organization, so that it can facilitate trade for the benefit of all, and contribute to 
economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic.  
19. The rules are the backbone of the system, but the multilateral trading system is more than 
just a rulebook. It is also the regular meetings of the delegates and representatives of each Member 
who come together to resolve trade tensions and disputes. It is the transparency and monitoring of 
trade developments around th e world. It is the support provided through technical assistance for 
developing countries, including the least -developed ones, that boosts their opportunities to 
participate in international trade.  
20. It is our national legislators who determine the way in w hich each Member implements and 
administers its WTO obligations. It is the broad stakeholder community, from business to non -
governmental organizations.  
21. It is also part of a community of intergovernmental institutions responsible for an array of 
economic, social, political and environmental issues clearly related to trade. We need to encourage 
all these institutions to cooperate closely in delivering their mandates in a coherent manner.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  22. The WTO should give effect to its development objectives in a practical  and enabling way, not 
forgetting its special responsibility towards its most vulnerable Members, particularly least -
developed countries. It also needs to play its part in the important task of advancing the economic 
empowerment of women through trade.  
23. I know that I have what it takes as Director General to help the WTO make progress on these 
crucial issues. During my time here in Geneva as an Ambassador, and later as a Minister, I have 
been appointed by you, the Membership, to Chair all the top WTO bodi es, including the Ministerial 
Conference. So, I am acutely aware that this is a Member -driven organization.  
24. The role of the Director General was described by Peter Sutherland as that of a facilitator. This 
means using every possible opportunity for buildi ng bridges among Members. It calls for someone 
who will work tirelessly to bring you, the Members, together to deliberate and converge on the issues 
facing this organization.  
25. I have shown I can do this – the TRIPS amendment, the Expanded Information Techn ology 
Agreement and the Nairobi Decision on Export Competition in agriculture are just three examples.  
26. As Director -General, I would use these proven skills to support you and work with you for the 
reform and renewal of the WTO. In me you would have a stro ng advocate for the value of the 
multilateral trading system and the need to make it more effective.  
27. The role of Director -General carries few powers, but it can and should have a considerable 
positive influence in moving forward the work of the WTO. If you  choose me to be the next Director -
General, I commit myself wholeheartedly to work collaboratively and inclusively – as I have always 
done – to make this organization work better for all its Members.  
28. Thank you.  
 
2. Questions and Answers2 
Q: Global trading rules framed in the 1980s have changed. These rules no longer 
facilitate and regulate the current trade regime. Their unfairness is manifested in the 
provisions on subsidies and domestic support measures. There is also a vast difference in 
the levels of commitment between Founding and Acceded Members. Nepal, as an Acceded 
LDC Member, has the commitment of 99.4% of binding coverage and 26.1% of average 
bound tariff. However, some Founding Members have commitments below 20% of binding 
coverage and above 90% of average bound tariffs. Emerging trends such as e -commerce 
are not adequately covered under existing WTO rules. In this context, what is your 
perspective on how to address these issues to ensure a fair and just multilateral trading 
system?  (Nepal)  
 
A: During the Nairobi Ministerial Conference which I chaired, two new Members acceded to the 
WTO – Afghanistan and Liberia. What you have said is true that in fact accession procedures and 
processes are long. Sometimes they do not fully take into  account the challenges that LDCs and 
SVEs face. But the WTO has the capacity to provide the support that is required through its technical 
assistance and capacity building functions to implement the agreements and the commitments that 
you have made. It is  also true that we are not living in the same world of the WTO's founding. It is 
a totally different world. If you just look around the room and see half of us are wearing masks – 
you would know that it is a totally different world. But it is also a world where there has been a 
digital revolution. It is a world that has moved on from where it was. It is a world that has adopted 
a new ITA. It is qualitatively a different place than it was before. Now, the challenge that we face in 
addressing the issues that you have raised of subsidies, for instance, is that the negotiating function 
of the organization has stalled and that there is a need to address that , and address it urgently. It 
is important for those that sit at the WTO to know that they have a contribut ion to make , and that 
 
2 The following delegations also submitted their names to ask a question to the candidate:  Afghanistan, 
Australia,  Barbados, Be lgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, El Salvador, European 
Union, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Malaysia, Mauritius, 
Mongolia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, 
Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  there is space for them to do that , including newly acceding countries. So , we need to fix the 
negotiating function of the WTO and I think that , if we come together as we have done on many 
occasions, we should be able to do that and a ddress the issues that you have raised that must be 
addressed. In Nairobi, we were able to address some of the most pertinent issues to this organization 
and to the international community as a whole – issues that have not been addressed for a long 
time. W e were able to prohibit export subsidies. So , if we negotiate, actually sit together and address 
these issues, we come up with solutions to that. The problem has been that, since Nairobi in 2015, 
there has not been any outcome for the WTO. Before Nairobi, it took a very long time for us to get 
any outcomes for the WTO that would support your full integration into the multilateral trading 
system. We need to do more to make sure that the reforms that need to be undertaken here at the 
WTO are undertaken , so that we can address some of the challenging issues that the international 
community including the LDCs are facing in integrating fully into the multilateral trading system.  
 
Q: How do you plan with the Joint Statement Initiatives in the interest of preservin g 
multilateralism in the WTO and to minimize the plurilateralization of the organization?  
(Jamaica)  
 
A: I know that a lot of work has gone into coming up with the Joint Statement Initiatives on e -
commerce, investment facilitation, MSMEs and gender. Those t hat are involved in these negotiations 
are not just developed countries , but there are also some developing ones which means that there 
is broad support for them. If you need to have a plurilateral agreement that would enjoy support, 
there are two principl es that you must  put in place: the first is the non -discrimination principle , so 
that the benefits accrue to all of us and I think we did that with the ITA 2 ; and the second one is to 
ensure that it is open for any Member who wants to join  the agreement an d that is able to do that. 
If you meet those broad conditions and if the rest of the Membership during the negotiations 
supports that , I think that  the Joint Statement Initiatives can actually support the multilateral trading 
system , they can enhance the p articipation of Members, open up markets, create jobs and provide 
opportunities for the countries that are part of the agreement , but also for those that are not , 
because of the extension of these benefits on an MFN basis.  
 
Q: My question is related to the  issue which deeply concerns my country and others 
due to our geographical characteristics. We all know about the position of the small 
economies which do not have access to the sea, which face high transport costs due to 
their landlocked position and depe nd on others for the transit of their goods . What is your 
vision on addressing the concerns of small and landlocked economies and how do you see, 
if possible, small and landlocked economies being fully integrated into the multilateral 
trading system? If yo u share the opinion that this issue is very important for the WTO, 
what concrete steps can you propose to address these problems?  (Kyrgyz Republic)  
 
A: I come from a region where there are a number of landlocked countries that have enjoyed 
access to the se a because of the measures that we have been able to put in place. We have actually 
modernized all our customs procedures , making them much simpler for these countries to access 
the sea. When I went back home and became Minister of Foreign Affairs, we reali zed that between 
Nairobi and Mombasa , for instance, there were fifteen or twenty roadblocks. It became really 
expensive for countries that are landlocked to access the sea and be able to participate effectively 
in multilateral trade. What we did is we came  together and came up with two very important 
initiatives which eased transit trade between Kenya from the Port of Mombasa to Uganda, Rwanda, 
Burundi and Eastern DRC. All of them depended on the Port of Mombasa. So , we eased the customs 
procedures, made them much easier for them to be able to fill the forms , and allowed them to do 
this from their countries. As such, we made sure that we digitized some of the procedures , so that 
they do not have to travel all the way to the Port of Mombasa to fill forms. We got rid of all the 
roadblocks to facilitate these processes in a very short period of time. In the beginning, it took a 
week from Mombasa to the border town. By the time we had finished with easing all of the 
procedures, modernizing and simplifying them, a nd making sure that their transactional costs were 
at a minimum , because we did not want this cost to make it expensive for them to do business, we 
also allowed them to put in place measures on the ease of doing business and eased all the 
challenges that t hey faced. My proposal would be that we take the same kind of measures: we 
simplify the procedures for you; we make it much more cost -effective; for the coastal countries to 
make it their business to bring down those costs , so that it is possible for landl ocked countries to 
actually do business; and for the landlocked countries to take the initiatives that they need to take 
to modernize their own systems , so that it is easier for them to access ports and the coastal strips. 
Basically , it is about modernizin g, digitizing and simplifying procedures. It is about working together WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  and cooperating , but also asking the WTO to support these countries and work on those measures, 
rules and procedures.  
 
Q: The debate on development perspective and market orientation has become 
increasingly prominent in the WTO. What is your view on that debate and how, as Director -
General, you can make a bridge between the two?  (Indonesia)  
 
A: I do not think it is part of the job description of the Director -General to deci de what economic 
model countries should adopt , as long as they adhere to all their commitments within WTO 
Agreements. The model of economic development to follow is a sovereign choice of a country. If it 
is a Member of the organization , then it must strict ly adhere to the principles of this organization 
and deal with all its commitments, adhere to them and carry them out as everybody else does. I do 
not think the market orientation of a country has anything to do with that.  
 
Q: You have mentioned reform as your first priority. Now my question is  about  your 
experience with reform processes. What experience do you have from managing and 
leading reform processes that might be of relevance in this context?  (Norway)  
 
A: The reforms that are carried within the domestic boundaries of our country are definitely not 
the same reforms that you would carry out here at the WTO. Reform is about change. It is about 
adapting to new realities. Within the WTO, there have been a lot of discussions about reforms , but 
there ha s not been any coming together of identifying exactly what these reforms that should take 
place are. At the domestic level, it is much easier. It is about agreeing on what reforms should take 
place, looking at the objectives that you have set yourself as a  country and , in order to achieve 
them, you take the measures that are necessary to reform your economy, your social space and 
also the political space , because you need to make sure that the objectives that you have set for 
yourself are realized. As Perma nent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Constitutional Affairs and 
National Integration, I carried out a lot of reforms. I reformed the whole criminal justice system in 
my country. It was never easy to reform , but it is necessary as long as you have ide ntified what 
needs to be reform ed, how it should be reformed and how it will impact the forward movement of 
the work that the WTO is doing. The fact that the work of the WTO has stalled means that it needs 
reform. As DG, I will encourage Members to come to gether, identify what reforms need to be done, 
ask for the support that they need to carry out those reforms. I would listen and sometimes maybe 
provide options on how things can be done. Reforms in our country are so different for what needs 
to be done – from having to reform the judicial function, the negotiating function and the deliberative 
function of the WTO, I think reforms here need your full participation and full engagement. This is a 
Member -driven organization , but as DG, you would actually tell me how you want me to support this 
reform process. I do not know whether I should talk about the reforms that we carried out in my 
country , but I can tell you that they are very extensive and that they are very productive.  
 
Q: Would you agree that there i s a gap in the WTO rulebook with regard to level -
playing -field issues? If you do, do you have a vision on how to deal with this matter?  
(Lithuania)  
 
A: If you are t alking about subsidies, that gap in the rulebook needs to be filled through 
negotiations bet ween Members of the WTO. It is not something that the Director -General of the WTO 
can address himself because negotiations are the preserve of Members of the WTO. They do not 
belong in the job description of a Director -General , but the Director -General wil l be supportive of 
anything that the Membership wants to address, provide the enabling environment for that to 
happen, provide the space and provide any resources that are needed for Members to negotiate on 
issues that they feel need to be addressed , so that the rulebook does not have any gaps.  
 
Q: The C -4 addressed the cotton issue in WTO negotiations in 2003. Seventeen years 
later, there are no advances made in this very important aspect for cotton -producing 
countries. What innovative action do you forese e to ensure that all Members concerned 
can be involved in providing pressing answers to this cotton issue by the next Ministerial 
Conference? What will you do to involve more resources and stakeholders in developing 
the cotton sector in developing countrie s, in line with the Nairobi agenda and others?  
(Mali)  
 
A: The first time t hat we dealt with the cotton issue and the C -4 was in Hong Kong and it was 
when I was chairing the General Council of the WTO. I recall that , at that time, the many meetings WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  that we held with the Cotton -4 encouraged the Membership to address this issue seriously and 
agreed that cotton will be dealt with ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically. The reason why that 
did not happen, that it was  not addressed ambitiously, expeditiously, and specifically, was because 
it was tied to negotiations on domestic support. Until those negotiations take place and Members 
agree that there is a resolution to domestic support negotiations in agriculture, I do  not think that 
there is a way to fully address the issues of cotton. After the decision on the prohibition of export 
subsidies, at least that bit on the negotiation was addressed. My plea would be to make sure that , 
by the time we get to Kazakhstan for th e Twelfth Session of the Ministerial Conference, negotiations 
on agriculture , which have stalled for a very long time – the two pillars of domestic support and 
market access – would be addressed, that Members actually devote time to negotiating. I know tha t 
these are very difficult negotiations. They were difficult in Nairobi. But when the Membership comes 
together and rises to the occasion, it is able to deal with even the most difficult of the issues. My 
role as Director -General would be to encourage Memb ers, to negotiate in good faith and agree on a 
set of issues that must be negotiated before we go to the Ministerial Conference and hope that in 
fact domestic support and market access would be some of the issues that are negotiated , so that 
finally we can  put to rest the issue of cotton because it is a real issue. I have visited many of the 
countries that are in the C -4 and I know how much pain these countries have to go through. All of 
them are LDCs in Africa , so it is important that this issue is fully a ddressed , but that is something 
for the Members to do. It was tied to domestic support and , as long as it is tied to domestic support . 
it would have to be negotiated within that pillar.  
 
Q: The fisheries subsidies negotiation is widely viewed by WTO Member s as a priority 
and is expected to yield certain results multilaterally . As Chair of the Trade Negotiations 
Committee, how will you facilitate this negotiation , while bearing in mind that the WTO is 
a Member -driven organization?  (Chinese Taipei)  
 
A: If WTO  Members who have done a lot of work on fisheries negotiations are to conclude the 
Fisheries Agreement, you would actually tick two boxes. One would be expanding opportunities  and 
obviously addressing the issues of overcapacity and IUU , among others . If we  are able to get an 
agreement on fisheries, what we would have done is to prove the credentials of this organization in 
sustainability. We would have made a clear statement about sustainability being a major plank of 
the organization's work. As Chair of th e TNC, I would encourage Members to reach agreement on 
the outstanding issues. Some of the issues have made a lot of progress. There are some that are 
much more difficult than others. I would just encourage that enough progress is made , so that , by 
the tim e we go to the next Ministerial Conference, it would be one of the deliverables. It would be 
one of the things that we are able to do. I do not think that , as Director -General, it would be in my 
place, even as Chair of the TNC, to negotiate on behalf of Me mbers. That negotiating function belongs 
to the Members. My job will be to create the necessary environment for Members to be able to 
negotiate in good faith.  
 
Q: You have extensive experience working in international organizations including in 
the WTO. In  recent years, we have seen a significant deterioration of the situation in this 
area which , among other things , has resulted in the decrease of trust among Members , as 
you have rightly mentioned in your presentation. Could you be more precise and specific  
about your vision of the role of the Director -General in overcoming this situation?  (Russian 
Federation)  
 
A: You are right , at the WTO, t here is a deficit of trust , but you cannot have trust if you are not 
engaged in negotiations, if you are not ensuring that there is full engagement of the Membership 
with each other and if you are not able to narrow the differences that you have. I know that it is 
possible to overcome  this trust. The Director -General can offer good offices. They can talk to different 
Members to make sure that you build trust. When we went to Nairobi, everybody said it was not 
going to happen , that w e were not going to be able to reach any agreements. I t is going to be a 
huge failure – the worst one that the organization has had. It took a lot of energy, a lot of passion 
– because obviously I am very passionate about the multilateral trading system. It took a lot of 
passion, a lot of time  and a lot of en ergy to  build the trust that was required among the Members. 
That was something that we did in collaboration with the Director -General and the Chair of the 
Nairobi Ministerial , because it had to be a representative from the Members and the Director -General  
working together in concert to assure Members that there is a need to send the right signal after 
Nairobi. A lot of work had been done and that work should not be for nothing. We really have to rise 
to the occasion – get up and get this done so that the i nternational community would accept the 
relevance of the WTO going forward. It takes time. With more engagement, the walls of mistrust WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  will fall off and people will begin to discuss issues more often, candidly and honestly , so that they 
can find a resoluti on. If you are not talking to each other , then it is very difficult to resolve some of 
the difficult issues. There is really nothing that cannot be resolved if there is no good faith and good 
will and if time and energy is not devoted to it. So , the trust in this organization must be rebuilt. 
The Director -General can play a part , but the Members have to do the heavy lifting , I am afraid.  
 
Q: You talked about "3 Rs" – reform, recovery and renewal.  If I may , I'd like to  request 
to add one more "R", that is : revival. When I say revival, I mean revival of the Doha 
Development Agenda. It is considered that the success of the Doha Development Agenda 
negotiations could have been a way towards augmenting world trade in a mutually 
beneficial manner , both for develope d and developing Members. However, there has not 
been much tracks in the last two decades in the Doha Development Agenda , particularly 
after the Nairobi Ministerial Conference. Do you have any vision or plan to revive the Doha 
Development Agenda or for lau nching negotiations of key pillars of the development 
agenda items in a new format?  (India)  
 
A: I was privileged to be in Doha in 2001 when we launched the Doha Declaration and I was one 
of those that was quite sure that in the four years after Doha, we wo uld be able to conclude the 
round because of what it stood for. There was so much enthusiasm in Doha . It came after 9/11 , we 
were all traumatized and desperate to find something that would bring all of us together. So , we 
were able to come together in a wa y that the world had not seen for a while. We were all very 
excited that finally we ha d a round that w ould ensure that development happens, that the 
development elements in the WTO Agreement will come to life after Doha. I think it is a matter of 
concern that , long after that, not much has happened with Doha , except , of course , for the export 
subsidies prohibi tion in Nairobi , where we really worked hard to get that done. So , I do not even 
think it is a matter of form. It is a matter of substance. What are the key issues in Doha that all the 
Members can come around and agree should be negotiated and concluded? W e have shown an 
example of export subsidies. I think that domestic support and market access are being negotiated. 
We do not know how long it would take , but there are elements there and key issues that are really 
important for the organization and that wo uld need to be negotiated. It is not about the form it 
would take. It is about the substance, the issues in the Doha Declaration that are important for the 
Membership of this organization.  
 
Q: COVID -19 is an unprecedented crisis of our time and has shown h ow interdependent 
we are. What role will you play to ensure that the WTO contributes towards multilateral 
solutions that will ensure affordable access to the vaccine , once available , as well as the 
requisite medicinal supplies and technologies?  (South Afri ca) 
 
A: The pandemic has affected all countries. Unfortunately , it has affected the most vulnerable of 
us disproportionately , as those countries cannot afford the economic stimulus packages that others 
can. Fortunately, there has been a lot of internationa l cooperation. A lot of organizations and 
partners have come forward to provide support. We worked on the TRIPS Agreement. We had an 
amendment to that agreement that basically supported the access of developing and LDC Members 
to medicines that are critica lly important for their survival. HIV and AIDS were devastating in the 
continent at that time. We were able , as a community of nations, of Members of the WTO , to actually 
rise up to that and get an agreement – an agreement that balanced access with IPR , because we 
also needed to make sure that we encourage pharmaceutical companies that had developed ARVs 
to continue investing in research and development. Now there is a competition to come up with 
vaccines for the COVID -19 pandemic. If we are able to do that , I think it would be very useful for 
Members to come together again and see how they can support  it. It will probably not be in the 
same manner as we did with the amendment of the TRIPS Agreement , although it can be used for 
situations like the HIV and AI DS pandemic , but I think it would be time again for Members of this 
organization to come together and support the developing and LDC Members  to have  access  to 
vaccines. That has happened before. Members felt that it was immoral for some to have ARVs , while 
others d id not. As DG, I would encourage Members to think about it, to discuss it and to see whether 
they can come up with a way forward. Another thing that I can do as DG is to work together with 
other institutions and regional organizations and partners , to make sure that we get some of the 
resources that are required to be able to support developing and LDC Members to have access to 
vaccines if and when they are developed. It is still a long way , I think , and some are actually 
engaging in some of the wo rk that is required to develop vaccines , and I think countries like South 
Africa and Kenya are in that group. By the time a vaccine is developed , we will have invested enough 
in it to be able to play a key role to ensure that other countries in our region have access to the WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  vaccines that are developed. But , at the moment, thinking of the vaccine when there is so much 
devastation that is going on , where we actually need international cooperation to support Members , 
that may be obliterated by the pandemic. I would suggest that , as a Membership, as an incoming 
Director -General, the focus should be on just ensuring that the resources that are available  are used  
to support livelihood, to support people who actually do not have any access to anything, who lost 
jobs, those whose economies were dependent on tourism and services . Everything is locked , there 
is no travel , facilities are not open anymore , their economies are in real trouble. The first step would 
be to support countries that are facing that kind of devastation and make sure that the Membership 
would come together to provide the resources that they need, to share practices, to provide 
information and make it cost -effective , because if you are sharing experiences and information , you 
can do it online. But it is important that we get some of these to those that need them the most.  
 
Q: In 2001, three former GATT and WTO Directors -General warned about overreaching 
by WTO dispute settlement. More recently, the United States has catalogued , through DSB 
state ments and a written report , pervasive Appellate Body overreaching in which 
adjudicators effectively write new rules never agreed by WTO Members. Do you agree that 
overreaching in dispute settlement undermines the WTO , including its more important 
functions  of discussion, monitoring and negotiations between Members? If so, what would 
you do to ensure the WTO adjudicators and their Secretariat support stop overreaching?  
(United States)  
 
A: We need to go back to the basics. We need to look at what the DSU says. It is very clear that 
it does not allow for overreach. It does not allow for precedent -creati on. It is very specific on what 
needs to be done. We also need to stress the interpretation  of the provisions that actually exist in 
the DSU , and not go beyond it. There are two articles in the DSU that indicate clearly that rights and 
obligations should not be diminished  or increased depending on a ruling or a decision of the Appellate 
Body. We  need to go to back to the basics. I am not the only one saying this. I think the Membership 
has said several  times  that we need to reform the dispute settlement system in the WTO. The dispute 
settlement system ensures credibility and predictability. It is  supposed to instil confidence , and not 
take it away from believing and working with the system , from ensuring that if there is a dispute , 
there is a system that will deal with it. The founders of this system made sure of that. They wanted 
to ensure that t here were no conflicts that would arise out of trade disputes. So , they had a system 
that was almost full proof from initiation of negotiations to dispute resolution. I think that it is 
important that we all work together to reassert that role of the dispu te settlement system of the 
WTO. Losing it would be very unfortunate. I think we need to come together and ensure that the 
Appellate Body resumes – a reformed one , of course , taking into consideration the concerns that 
many Members have expressed. I do not  think that any other system would fix that. We need a 
multilaterally negotiated Appellate Body that will take the interests of all of us into consideration , 
but also make it very clear what we expect from the Appellate Body. It is a pity that it is not th ere 
anymore. I was Chair of the DSB and honestly that was the crown in the jewel of the WTO – the fact 
that there was a system that you could appeal to and get decisions taken. The Membership had 
serious concerns that would not allow it to continue existin g. We need to deal with those concerns , 
so that we can get our Appellate Body back. As DG, I would work very closely with the Membership, 
address all the concerns that have been raised, and negotiate together a new Appellate Body , so 
that our dispute settl ement system is complete again.  
 
Q: If you were appointed Director -General, you will be the first woman to occupy this 
role at the organization. What plans will you have then for your first 100 days to mark 
this difference being a woman leader?  (Paraguay)  
 
A: It would be a total privilege for me. Although in looking for a Director -General of the 
organization, we should be looking for expertise and competence. If that happens to be something 
that Members feel I have, I would be greatly honoured to do the job , and in my first 100 days, I 
would make sure that some of the issues that were critical for the Membership , such as fisheries 
negotiations , were concluded. We need to get that done. It would immediately tick two boxes – a 
trade box and a sustainability bo x. I would address the issues that have been raised around dispute 
settlement. I would encourage Members as Director -General to really work on them and get a very 
quick resolution on it. And then , of course , COVID -19 is an issue that needs to be dealt with , including 
the fallout from this pandemic. We need to address that together as Members , and that is something 
that I would encourage Members to do , so that , from the trade perspective, we show that the WTO 
is  an organization that is trade -supportive , because during the pandemic there are many effects on 
the multilateral trading system due to  measures that were taken by Members. I would also work on WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  laying the ground for the Twelfth Ministerial Conference. Now , beyond that, I would work with 
UNCTAD, ITC and UN Women , that are  very interesting initiatives that affect the role and 
empowerment of women in trade. There is a very good example of work that was done by ITC , but 
supported by UNCTAD and WTO which is "SheTrades ". That is something that I supported. I was 
present when it was launched , and I thank Arancha González , the Foreign Minister of Spain, for 
having worked really hard on it. There are so many other initiatives that we can actually work on. 
The WTO sho uld take a lead in some of the initiatives that need to come out on the empowerment 
of women, on supporting women in multilateral trade. I do not believe that you need a multilateral 
agreement on it. We can agree on measures that the organization can take to support women in 
small business es, in MSMEs, in developing countries , so that they can access the global value chains 
and the global supply chains. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. Even at the organization, 
making sure that there is an equi table representation and presence of women at the highest levels 
of the organization would be something that I would want to see happen as Director -General.  
 
Q: What personal qualities or unique attributes would you bring to the WTO if given the 
privilege of serving as the new Director -General?  (Philippines)  
 
A: I would bring the attributes that I possess – attributes of passion for the multilateral trading 
system and what trade can do as a force for good, as a transformational force that has pulled lots 
of poor people out of poverty in my country and in many others. I would bring the attributes of a 
skilled diplomat who is able to support negotiations. I have done that before and I have done that 
here at the WTO and elsewhere as well. I would bring my polit ical vision which I used very effectively 
during MC10 in Nairobi , but not only – in other areas that I have worked in, I also brought back to 
bear on the work that I did and it actually was very successful. I would also bring to the table my 
understanding of the system. I understand the WTO. I have worked here. I have walked the 
corridors , when the corridors were a beehive of activities , when we used every little corner that we 
could find to negotiate and strike deals and agreements, staying three  nights or  four awake working 
on the amendment to the TRIPS Agreement, bringing all the excitement of knowing that you are 
doing something that is going to impact the globe and in a very positive manner. I will bring all that 
to bear , but also the understanding that  Members of the WTO have different interests and that these 
interests must converge , and that they are the only ones that can do that, that the Director -General 
cannot converge interests of Members. But the Director -General can offer support to make sure t hat 
the environment exists for Members to sit down and talk to each other. So , I would bring back to 
bear and I am sure that those that have worked with me before know that I am very energetic , but 
I use the energy sensitively and reasonably and I will do that if I have the privilege of being selected 
Director -General of the organization that I am very passionate about.  
 
Q: How do you perceive the WTO's image among the business community and civil 
society? Would you see a need to improve relations with thes e stakeholders and how 
would you do that?  (Estonia)  
 
A: I would draw from the experience that I had when I was here in Geneva – for the six years 
that I was here. One of the things that I enjoyed very much was the dialogues we had with the ICC. 
But at that  time, there was a lot of activity and so there was interest from the business community 
to see what was happening here , but also to discuss with us what they thought was critically 
important. So , I would continue those dialogues – probably make them even more frequent. There 
is value in WTO Members having constant engagement with the business community. At the end of 
the day, they use the rules that are negotiated here. I would encourage more of those. If I was 
Director -General, I would plan more of them t o just make sure that we know exactly how the 
business community that uses the rules that we negotiate feels about the work of the WTO. I also 
enjoyed the public forum that we had here that allowed all of us to get together with the NGOs to 
talk to them an d to also see how they perceive us and see whether there was something that we 
could work on together to either change that perception , or to improve it. So , those are instruments 
that we can use. Those are mechanisms that we can use to make sure that the outside world that 
does not belong to the world of Members and the Secretariat follow the work of the organization, 
support the work of the organization, advocate for some of the things that we are doing and make 
them known. I would also encourage discussi on with MSMEs. It would be important for them to know 
that this organization takes them seriously. After  all, they are major players , especially if you think 
about the countries that we come from – developing and LDCs – MSMEs are big players. They are 
big players in the developed countries as well. But the impact that they have in the economies of 
developing and least developed countries are almost unimaginable , so it would be a very interesting 
development if we are able to work with them, to get them to s ee how we actually manage affairs WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  at the WTO, see if they can add value to our conversations, discussions and negotiations. That will 
be useful. The WTO's engagement with these different stakeholders has helped the organization 
understand how the external world actually views it. It has been very productive. I enjoyed them 
when I was young. I attended each one of them. I even attended them when I had gone back to 
Nairobi , because I wanted to come and participate and see what was going on. I think they are v ery 
valuable instruments and we should continue using them – maybe even increase the number of 
times that we have them. Now that we are not very effectively negotiating, maybe it would a good 
idea to have others come in and talk to us about the issues that  we are discussing and some of the 
issues that we may not be discussing but are of value to the rest of the international community.  
 
Q: As you know, for some years now, going back to the days of Pascal Lamy, the WTO 
has been looking annually at trade rest rictions. I am referring particularly to the 2009 
crisis. Following the recent reports on G -20 trade measures, the OECD has noted that 
there has been an increase in trade restrictive measures which is having a strong impact 
on trade. What is your opinion c oncerning this matter?  (Guatemala)  
 
A: I think that it is true that there have been more trade -restrictive measures taken by Members 
in the recent past. I was actually looking at how many measures have been put in place. Just by 
following the pandemic, I w as truly surprised that the Membership that believes in the value of 
multilateral trade would put up so many restrictions. But it was also a matter of fear. I think we 
were all afraid. We were all frightened of this pandemic that we did not understand. As soon as 
people started talking, international organizations started coming together , including the WTO, FAO 
and WHO, among others . There was understanding that in fact some of the measures that have 
been taken were not useful at all because, for instance, for the restrictions on the export of food , 
the realization that , in presence of  surplus stocks and if we continue d the restricti ons, the prices 
would actually fall. Sometimes, we put in place such measures as Members , and I think something 
that the Director -General of the WTO can do, in the same way that the current DG did in his joint 
statements with other international organizations, would be to discourage restrictive measures and 
encourage trade facilitating measures. The WTO is about opening of markets , it is about trade 
facilitation , it is about the free flow of goods and services. It is a sad story when we have more 
restrictive measures put in place than facilitative measures. It is something that the Membership 
needs to work for very seriou sly, to make sure that the value of this international organization 
remains and that we all believe in the power of market opening – that increase our GDP, create jobs 
and alleviate poverty. It is something that, as DG, I would discourage. I always found a  lot of value 
in the work that the TPRB did , and I chaired it. I think I learned a lot about how governments could 
interact with others – the peer review system that in fact was borrowed by the Human Rights Council 
later on. The value of the peer review sy stem resides in the fact that we all sit and look at measures 
that have been put in place, at the policies of different countries , and critique them – but also borrow 
some of them, exchange experiences on how these policies have affected countries. In gene ral, 
within the multilateral trading system, we should be focused more on facilitating trade, on opening 
markets, on creating jobs, on improving our economic status, on growing our economies , than on 
restricting trade.  
 
Q: Irrespective of trade negotiation s, the WTO Secretariat continues to operate 
effectively thanks to its merit -based recruitment and promotion system. How would you 
ensure to preserve this in the future and what is your management vision for an optimal 
allocation of resources and a robust s ystem for ensuring accountability?  (Denmark)  
 
A: The WTO Secretariat is one of the m ost professional ones that I have come across. It has a 
lot of experience and institutional memory. The reason why it is so valuable is because of what you 
have just talked  about – the recruitment policies making sure that it is about expertise, experience 
and competence of those that are recruited. That is something that one cannot move if they want 
an organization to function optimally. You must make sure that you have the  best minds working 
for you , so that you can move the process forward , but you can also have what you need. There is 
so much done to inform Members on developments and on what is happening within the multilateral 
trading system. It is very important that t he best minds are recruited. We also know that today, the 
best minds come from all over the world. So , it would be very important to make sure that , as you 
recruit, you recruit competence , but you also recruit diversity , so that the Secretariat of the WTO is 
representative of the Membership of the WTO. It would be very unfortunate if we felt that any 
Member amongst us did not have competent nationals to be recruited into the WTO. We need to 
make sure that we continue and become sticklers for competence -recruiting , but also ensure that 
there is diversity , so that the face of the organization is representative.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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Q: You have mentioned the importance of the support the WTO can pro vide to 
sustainability . In this regard, in your view, aside from our immediate goal to successfully 
conclude the fisheries subsidies negotiations, what should be the role of the WTO in 
supporting the protection and preservation of the world's resources and the environment?  
(Colo mbia)  
 
A: Trade must be s upportive of the environmental agenda. We have a Committee on Trade and 
Environment that needs to work much more energetically to ensure that the WTO becomes a little 
bit greener. We need a greener WTO that can focus on some of the  issues that are so critically 
important for the global community. This pandemic has brought those things to the fore. As Director -
General, I would support the reenergization of the Committee on Trade and Environment , so that it 
can contribute to the disco urse that is taking place around the world. But it is also true that we need 
to address some very sensitive issues in the organization. We need to know how we are going to 
engage on carbon emissions , for instance. It is something that the Membership will n eed to discuss 
and decide they will approach issues like that , because it would be very important for the WTO to 
be part of the global system of governance, of trade but also of the environment. I was the Deputy 
Director -General of UNEP in Nairobi. One of the things that I wanted to do and I did when I joined 
the organization was to make sure that there was some relationship between the WTO that I enjoyed 
working in , that I really was passionate about , and UNEP  that had offered me an opportunity to bring 
the two together. I think that we did a really fine job in identifying areas in which trade could support 
environment , including in areas such as green technologies and the kind of support you would give 
to an organization, an enterprise that wanted to adopt  to new and greener technologies. So ,  there 
is a lot of work that we can do , work that is really good, that will not disrupt trade , but will showcase 
that relationship that can be extremely valuable. Reenergizing the Committee is one thing that we 
can do , but working much more closely with international organizations that deal with trade, looking 
at ways in which we can support, whether it is farmers that would like to embrace new technologies 
or companies , including financial services where there is a lot  of talk about green instruments.  
 
Q: Regarding agriculture, could there be any kind of approaches or methodologies that 
could help to revamp the negotiations on agriculture that, as you very well know, are 
already mandated within the agreement itself?  (Uruguay)  
 
A: Agriculture negotiations have been the most difficult negotiations that the WTO has ever 
embarked on. We were happy that in Nairobi we were able to get the prohibition of export subsidies 
out of the way. The hope was that then Members would engage energetically on the two other pillars , 
but also on issues that have come up , such as PSH and SSM. We still should be able to get that 
done. We need to move away f rom drawing red lines on the sand and saying that this cannot be 
touched and that cann ot be touched , and waiting to see who will blink first. As Director -General, I 
would encourage negotiations on agriculture. It is critically important. Of course, it is small in total 
of trade – we know that  – but it affects so many people that we need to make sure that we actually 
complete those negotiations. My role would be to encourage Members. In Nairobi, I had a different 
role. I was Chair , so I could do things that a DG cannot do , but as Director -General I would just 
create the enabling environment. I would keep nudging you. I would have discussions with Members 
to see how we can get convergence, look at the issues that Members are putting on the table, look 
for commonalities and place those areas where there could be convergence , so that you can 
encourage movement forward. But I think it would be a really positive move and a good signal to 
the international community if in Kazakhstan we had some outcome on agriculture.  
 
 
3. Summing up by the Candidate3 
I thank the Chairman and also all those delegations  who have put questions to me. I have tried to 
answer you , but I have also listened to you carefully and attentively. If you select me as your next 
Director -General, you can be sure that I will go and listen to you. Everything I do will be informed 
by my respect for the Membership. At the same time, I will whole -heartedly take on all the 
responsibilities of the job, carry them out with energy and with commitment. A key responsibility 
for the Director -General is to facilitate agreement among Members. This is a challenging task , given 
 
3 Under the modalities for the conduct of the meeting communicated by the Chair to all delegations on 1 
and 1 0 July, each candida te had the opportunity to make a concluding statement during the last five minutes of 
the question -and-answer period if  she or he so wished.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  the diversity of views and inte rests among you which we have seen again this afternoon. It is also 
essential if the WTO is to be reformed and reinvigorated. You know that I am equal to that challenge. 
I have worked with you. I have lived amongst you. I have walked through these corridor s and we 
have managed to make progress together. As a Minister, as an Ambassador, I have already worked 
with you to reach agreement s on difficult and divisive issues.  
 
Now, in these testing times for the multilateral trading system, I offer you my experie nce, my energy 
and my deep commitment to the WTO and to you, its Members. In me, you will have a Director -
General who knows the WTO , someone who can , and will , be effective from the first day, someone 
who will work closely with Members in Geneva and someon e who also has the skills and experience 
to operate effectively at a political level. If you select me, I promise I will work unceasingly to help 
this great global asset regain its place as a force for progress, for development and for prosperity.  
 
______ _________  
 
 
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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ANNEX 7  
Meeting with Mr. Mohammad Maziad Al -Tuwaijri (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)  
1. Presentation by the Candidate1 
Your Excellency Mr. Chairman,  
Distinguished Excellencies and Delegates,  
Ladies and Gentlemen,  
 
Before I start my statement, I would like to express my sincere, personal solidarity towards all 
people and governments affected by the tragedy caused by the COVID -19 pandemic. I sit on Saudi 
Arabia's Supreme Committee for responding to and overcoming the virus in our country, so I deal 
with first -hand and every day the challenges that I know all of our governments and people are 
facing. Collective effort at the WTO is an important part of countering the effects of COVID -19, and 
recovering from its ravages on intern ational trade.  
 
I would like to thank the Chairman of the WTO General Council, Member Delegations, and the 
Secretariat for giving me the opportunity to share my approach to continuous reform at the WTO, 
and to raise questions and ideas on how the WTO shoul d be equipped to face 21st century challenges.  
 
Before I proceed, I would like to provide some background that will illustrate my approach to life 
and to leadership. My family comes from generations of traders. I grew up with stories about my 
grandfather's  travels by caravan across the desert to trade throughout our region. He and other 
traders were guided by the North Star, just as they were in all of your trading histories.  
 
In my view, the only way for the WTO to succeed is for Members to establish goals , then set a 
course, following their True North toward those goals. In the journey of WTO Members, the DG is a 
compass to help Members stay on the path toward their goals with the support of the Secretariat. 
Businesses and governments cannot function witho ut direction and leadership. And the WTO is no 
different.  
 
I think we can all agree that a challenging situation has become even more difficult with the 
pandemic; it will likely get worse; and, we know that trade policy is an essential part of the response  
to the pandemic itself, and will be key to our collective recovery. The crisis that we see today further 
emphasizes the importance of working collectively to advance our common interests.  
 
But, Your Excellencies, what is our True North? How will the WTO b e guided to its destination? I 
would now like to talk through with you my impression of the problem, and to share my approach 
to staying on course for the WTO.  
 
History has shown us again and again that crises can inspire both coordination and cooperation.  The 
GATT and the WTO both emerged from major upheavals and uncertainties over the last century. 
COVID -19 presents no less of a challenge, and requires no less of an inspired vision and strong 
leadership, especially because it affects all countries and peo ple at the same time.  
 
So, Your Excellencies, I look forward to the questions that you will ask a bit later, but at this point, 
I propose to consider three questions of my own:  
 
First, what opportunities and solutions  will emerge from current challenges?  
 
Second , how can Members work together to leverage new ideas, new rules and new 
technologies to solve the emerging problems that we face today, and the issues that will 
arise tomorrow?  
 
And, third , Your Excellencies, what kind of leadership is required  to ensure that the multilateral 
trading system delivers  on the vision and objectives set by Members?  
 
 
1 The presentation is also circulated i n document JOB/GC/239.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  I would like to offer my responses and my experience in relation to each of these questions which, 
I hope, will help y ou get to know me and my approach to management, problem solving and 
leadership.  
 
Regarding what kind of leadership is required for the WTO , I believe that the leader of a Member -
driven Organization must ensure that steady progress is made on delivering  the goals and 
objectives set by Members. Some important goals and objectives, are set out in the preamble to the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO. I think we can all agree that the goals and objectives 
that Members originally set out are still releva nt and worth pursuing.  
 
However, from my point of view, we can also probably agree that the delivery of results under the 
main pillars of the WTO system has drifted off course, and that reform is now more urgent than 
ever, or the WTO risks losing its way. 
 
In my view, we should question: in what manner and to what extent is the system not delivering – 
and, most importantly, WHY is it not delivering?  I have many specific observations about these 
questions, but would like to concentrate here on the appro ach to continuous reform that I would 
apply as WTO DG, if granted this honor.  
 
I have seen throughout my career that in order for any system to deliver intended outcomes, there 
must be a system in place to maintain True North at all times: for tracking, re porting and measuring 
progress, for resolving problems, and for adjusting operations in response to inevitable changes. As 
you all know, the WTO has three main functions for monitoring  trade issues, settling disputes , 
and negotiations , which include improv ements to existing rules, new rules and market access. We 
all know the WTO "bicycle theory", that we must continue to move forward, or fall down. If selected 
as DG, I would think through new approaches and theories. For example, I would suggest a "tricycle  
theory" for the WTO, bearing in mind that the WTO was designed with three wheels - to handle 
disputes, negotiations and monitoring. If all wheels do not spin as designed, the tricycle cannot carry 
the Members forward to reach their goal.  
 
But before we re pair the broken parts, we need to understand WHY  these wheels are not turning, 
and for this we need to have a performance assessment system in place. We also need to recognize 
the consequences for the WTO of over -performance in litigation, while neglecting  the negotiating 
and monitoring functions. A system out of balance cannot move forward.  
 
Businesses  have indicators for profitability and return on investment. And governments  have 
economic and social development indicators to track the success of programs  and results delivered 
in the public interest.  
 
As Minister of Economy, I personally established and still Chair a new "Delivery Unit" of 50 people 
whose sole responsibility is to monitor, assess, and solve problems in order to ensure that the system 
delivers the transformation objectives set by the government. For any system, goals and objectives 
are only meaningful if they are actually delivered.  
 
Again, the WTO is no different.  If entrusted with the DG leadership mandate, I would establish 
critical succ ess factors  from Members' goals and objectives . Then, we would establish key 
performance indicators  to allow the objective measurement of performance of the core functions 
of dispute settlement, monitoring and negotiations.  
 
Finally, as DG, with the help of the Secretariat, we would collect evidence and data , and calculate 
metrics  to help you all understand where goals are being reached, or where performance on WTO 
objectives is falling short. This structured analysis  would help Members to understand what 
changes of direction or re -focus in priorities are required to achieve their objectives.  
 
If selected, I can promise that performance assessment and adjustment will need to continue as 
long as the WTO exists, because international trade, business and soci etal needs will change as 
much over the next 4, 8 and 25 years, as they have changed since 1995. As part of this effort, 
feedback loops of constructive suggestions will be encouraged to deliver continuous improvement.  
 
If we do not respond to shortcomings,  the system will not run smoothly, stakeholders will become 
dissatisfied, and alternative means will be found outside the WTO to achieve your goals and 
objectives.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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The WTO needs a DG who helps Members to guide the system forward by constantly assessing 
performance  and helping find ways to introduce gradual transitions toward improved functioning 
and, where necessary, to support reform to stay the course into the future. And one of my main 
goals would be to establish a well -functioning system that will car ry Members forward long after my 
term.  
 
Since 1995, the WTO has largely kept markets open, maintained a transparent, rules  based approach 
to international trade, and stood against protectionism particularly during periods of great economic 
and financial crisis.  
 
But this "performance" might be called "maintaining the status quo". This is not good enough. In 
fact, as we see to day, standing in place while the world is moving forward means that the WTO is 
falling behind.  
 
Concerning, my second question of how can we work together to solve current and future problems , 
I am a pragmatic optimist who believes that as long as Members  trust that they all remain committed 
to the True North of the WTO project, we will always find a way to work together.  
 
In order to work together to solve problems, we need to identify the problems, and their root causes. 
Again, if all elements of a system are not functioning, the system will eventually break down.  
 
As we work together to solve problems, we must be inclusi ve. In order to ensure that results reflect 
the broad interests of the Membership, all voices must be at the table in terms of both Members and 
genders. Regarding women's empowerment, the WTO Secretariat must walk the talk, including in 
all levels of manag ement and staff.  
 
Concerning working together through negotiations, I believe that Members will participate in 
negotiations when they are convinced that the agenda includes an incentive for them to participate. 
Therefore, in order to have a successful mult ilateral negotiation, the agenda needs to be balanced 
– it needs to include something for everyone. I support plurilateral negotiations as long as they are 
open to all Members, their outcome is applied to all on a most -favored nation basis, and they do not  
create rules that prejudice the interests of non -participants. I am aware that concerns remain about 
whether the current plurilateral approach will meet these criteria, and think more work is required 
in this area.  
 
With full deference to the Member -driven and sovereign nature of the WTO, I am convinced problems 
can be solved through contributions by the WTO Secretariat staff's research, analysis and increased 
technical assistance, as well as through increased interaction with various sizes of businesses f rom 
all Members.  
 
Finally, transparency is key to my approach to performance assessment and problem solving, so I 
would recommend periodic public reporting of WTO performance indicators against is goals and 
objectives.  
 
And finally, concerning the first qu estion on what opportunities and solutions will emerge from 
current challenges , the existing delay in convening Ministers for the 12th Ministerial Conference may 
be a blessing in disguise. If we move quickly to take advantage of the opportunity of having a n 
additional year to prepare, we could find and deliver solutions at MC12, particularly on fishery 
subsidies and electronic commerce and digital trade, which would demonstrate that the WTO can 
address issues in the public good – that would deliver on your goal of "optimal use of the world's 
resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development" – while recognizing the 
contribution of e -commerce to economic growth in all markets, which has been emphatically affirmed 
during the COVID -19 pandem ic.  
 
Although concluding the fishery subsidies negotiations would be a welcome sign that WTO Members 
can agree on something , we should not exaggerate the impression that this small step will make 
on our constituents. We need to aim higher, and the DG must  work overtime to support a more 
complete agenda for the future of the WTO by MC12.  
 
Having attended annual  meetings of the IMF and World Bank, I suggest that WTO Ministerial 
Conferences could be held annually  in order to bring ministers together, to build  personal relations, WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  and to explore common interests, without always expecting to have a negotiated deliverable at each 
meeting.  
 
Concerning Special and Differential Treatment, the bottom line is, without negotiations that include 
incentives for everyone to participate actively, I do not think it will be possible for Members to 
address the issue of SDT. This is one of the main reasons that the negotiating function needs to 
start working. Members have various capacities to implement and take advantage of ne w rules and 
commitments, so it is clear that each Member must decide for itself what is in its own interest.  
 
* * * 
 
Your Excellencies, no one has all the answers. But under my leadership as WTO DG, I would help 
provide solutions, and would help guide Mem bers toward your goals – the goals set for the 
multilateral trading system.  
 
If I am selected to be the DG, on day one, I would establish a WTO "Delivery Unit" that would 
immediately assess performance against your existing objectives based on data and ec onomic 
evidence, and which would help ensure that all Members understand how the WTO is operating, 
where it is not delivering as intended, and which functions need your attention.  
 
This initial assessment would include a deep internal review – a kind of M RI scan – so we can 
evaluate every aspect of the Organization, including the DG's office, and issues not immediately 
apparent on the surface.  
 
After Members consider the nature of the problems, it will then be up to them – up to you – to set 
or revise goal s and objectives, and we would then work to constantly assess and measure success 
going forward consistent with your vision for the future of the WTO.  
 
 Your Excellencies, thank you for your attention. It has been an honor to present my ideas to you, 
and I look forward to responding to your questions.  
 
 
2. Questions and Answers2 
Q: What role do you see the Director -General playing in the multilateral trade 
negotiations? More specifically, what would you do to help conclude the negotiations on 
fisheries subsidies , which would become one of your first immediate challenges?  
(Denmark ) 
 
A: We have a great opportunity with MC12 coming up hopefully. There is actually a delay because 
of COVID -19, which may be a blessing in disguise , as it could provide a huge opportunity for us to 
prepare further and make sure , between now and then, that those initial K ey Performance Indicator s 
are agreed. People use the term "low hanging fruits " all the time , but speaking to Members over the 
last few days, let us also be careful around what is a "low hanging fruit ". The question is delivery – 
actual delivery. I am pro having more success stories even if they are small , but they  will build up. 
When small success stories are delivered and executed, people regain trust. We need to think about 
that in terms of process , and the DG's role in the multilateral trade negotiations is to be able to 
reach out and reach out more. When I say reach out , I mean to all stakeholders. I would like to have 
a dialogue with all of you and your capitals as well. But , also, when I think about what is between 
Geneva and capitals, there may be some disconnect. I have heard of this , but I agree. The Direct or-
General, in terms of his approach to reach out, should have a mission. Why is he going to the capital? 
What is the deliverable? What is the outcome? And the Director -General should bring that feedback 
back to Geneva to the negotiations. That connection is very important. For MC12, I would propose 
to you to do it once a year – why do it every two years? Things happen now on a daily basis in our 
lives. What happens in a month in 2020 is equal to what happened in a year in 1995. I have seen 
people actually engaging more frequently than once every two years. What do we achieve if we do 
it annually? If we agree on these KPI performance concepts, the Ministers will have the opportunity 
 
2 The following delegations also submitted their names to ask a question to the candidate:  Afghanistan, 
Canada,  Colombia, Costa Rica, Estonia, European Union, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, India, 
Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, The Netherla nds, Norway, 
Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Ukraine 
and Uruguay.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  to see performance hands on , and maybe change their minds on some of the iss ues. Through this, 
maybe we can deliver more if we hold sessions of the Ministerial Conference more frequently. 
Regarding your fisheries question, it is one of the files that is more advanced than the others and I 
would like to conclude it by MC12. Working  with you, one of the main things that I will be delighted 
to help with , is to identify if there are any gaps, determine where they are, what the views are, what 
people's motives are , and really communicate and come up with comprehensive solutions based on  
your system , to make sure that this file in particular moves ahead and we call it a success. But let 
us not exaggerate around that particular file. To me, as more and more files move forward, progress 
becomes more important.  
 
Q: Reference was made to the primary reason why the majority of our countries joined 
the WTO. We therefore seek to appoint a Director -General who is able to lead the WTO 
and help broker a deal that could usher in inclusive development , as espoused by the 
Marrakesh Agreement establishi ng the WTO. Development , of course , comes at varying 
degrees for WTO Members , and Africans realize a disproportionately smaller share of 
development and growth. As a prospective Director -General, what innovative ideas can 
you offer to help move forward the  negotiations on Paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration?  (Botswana)  
 
A: I am aware of the DDA issues that have not been addressed. But , actually, I do not think we 
can have progress at the WTO until all Members feel that their issues are being at tended in 
negotiations. To me, it is more important to find progress opportunities. As a potential DG, again I 
would like to demonstrate to the Members, the community , and all stakeholders that there is 
continuous progress. I do understand also that there are very hot files within the WTO , and I hope 
we have a chance to discuss many of them during this Q&A , but the main idea is to come back and 
help Members, come back and assist gaps, come back and say : "these are the scenarios, these are 
the trade -offs", and really trigger those discussions and trigger those negotiations , and assess and 
help. Nobody in my v iew will have 100% of their issues satisfied all the time , and I can relate to 
that. I have had so many experiences in my life. Before, I once landed on a very complex job with 
a multinational organization , and the mandate was to basically reduce risk s, adhere to the best 
practice of compliance and reduce cost s. When the design was made to addressing all these 
challenges, the objective was to make a maximum impact to shareholders , making sure that 
progress ha d been made, mak ing sure that the next CEO tak ing over this role actually f ound a better 
shop. The case is exactly the same as here. Success to me is when the next Director -General in the 
future comes and finds a better shop and a better process. I think the issue here to answer your 
question is around p rocess. Did we actually improve the process?  
 
Q: For the WTO to remain relevant, it cannot work in silo  because of the dynamics of 
the problem and the complexity of the issues. What is your plan to strengthen cooperation 
with other multilateral organizatio ns?  (Malaysia)  
 
A: I absolutely agree , because the world is changing challenges altogether. And I can relate to 
so many multinational institutions and their operations. I have participated in the IMF Annual 
Meetings and WEF. I am in charge of the SDGs wit h the UN and have been on this file for the last 
four years. So , the question is : is there a lesson learned that we can capture from other multinational 
institutions? Can we add value to them? When I think about trade, I always try to think about it as 
a sum of a total. If we think about the world economy as 100, a typical economist or an accountant 
will tell you that the trade part, let's say hypothetically , for the sake of illustration , is 20%. I would 
like to actually challenge this and say : what about t he indirect issues related to trade? You know, 
we can talk about jobs, energy, production, manufacturing, logistics and transportation. They are 
all related. So , I think Members here deserve the right to have this very comprehensive, creative 
analysis into  what trade here really is, how it is changing and shifting , and what the roles are of 
other multinational organizations in terms of this dialogue that we are facing here. So , I do 
encourage 100% an open dialogue with other multinational organizations in t he spirit of being also 
the true north for trade. When people refer to growth today, all of us will trust the IMF numbers. 
Why? Because they are engaging. They do a lot of due diligence. They produce country reports. I 
would like to see with your help, ass istance and inputs  that the WTO is also the north star for trade. 
Publications, periodic reports – all of these adds up. And again, let us face it. All here realize that 
we are all facing a little bit of reputational and brand issues. We do , and I have see n this from the 
outside. I have seen the WTO from the outside. Maybe people have also lost hope in many ways. 
So, by engaging, we will actually be hitting too many birds with one stone. This is very important. 
It makes a lot of sense. The timing is very go od, and we can add a lot of value. It is the way we WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  present our story, our deliveries and the importance of trade to the world , especially now. And I 
think there is no better time to engage more proactively with multinational organizations.  
 
Q: Some develo ping WTO Members grew fast during the last decades and improved 
their economic competitiveness substantially. How should the result in changes in the 
international landscape be reflected in the ongoing and future WTO negotiations and , in 
particular , with regard to special and differential treatment? (Sweden)  
 
A: I must repeat myself here , because I have the deepest respect to Member -driven 
organizations. This only can be resolved by Members through negotiations. My mind is very clear 
about this. The question is : are the re flexibilities that can be done? The answer is : maybe yes , and 
I do agree with you. As regards some developing countries and COVID -19, some of them will come 
out of it stronger than the others. What is their digital infrastructure? Ho w much have they invested 
in their digital platforms? With the way the world is changing, trade would ultimately, naturally come 
their way. The question is : are there flexibilities that can be applied where it is genuinely needed? 
It is not about granting flexibilities. It is genuinely needed. And what is the criteria to define that 
genuine need? Is it time? Is it sectoral? This is something the Members should agree on through 
negotiations. This is a Member -driven organization. I know that the issue of gene ral application of 
S&DT also needs to be resolved and specific ally who needs what , would only come out of 
negotiations. That takes me back actually to the whole essence of having continuous performance 
indicators in place. The design of these Key Performan ce Indicators with you must address all these 
issues for them not to come back. If we all collectively think that things are not progressing , then 
the performance should tell us. The north star should tell us whether we are deviating, whether we 
are not mo ving in the right direction. Again, I must tell you that it is extremely important to believe 
and think that this is good for everybody. When talk ing about the LDCs and others, it is actually a 
tool that will help people make more informed decisions and be  more engaged – and maybe change 
their mind about motives. One of the things that crossed my mind this morning is that we are going 
through this pandemic , and I do not know the answer to this , but how much was the WTO prepared? 
Was there a kit ready for Me mbers to access during this pandemic with multiple scenarios, outcomes, 
a lot of information? What if this stays longer? What if we have another one in ten years , 
accompanied by a natural disaster? All these questions , hopefully through the DG's role relat ed to 
information, KPIs and performance , will address your concern and those of others.  
 
Q: If you are elected as the next Director -General, how do you see the role of the 
Secretariat? Are you going to reform it? If yes, how?  (Viet Nam)  
 
A: The role of the  Director -General is more of a compass to help Members achieve their common 
goals , and the realization of the basic ingredients of the organization must be well respected. But I 
also see a lot of upside potential to think about the DG role and the office i tself. For example, I think 
it is fair to say that , for the first 100 days – though I would like to think as the first 2,400 hours 
because it makes more sense – what is the first action that the DG should do? I have always liked 
this concept of deep dive d iagnosis , because , even if big issues are identified here and we talk about 
dysfunctionalities and stalling and all of these, there are also issues that are not there yet. It is 
under the surface. You could only discover them by really doing a sort of MRI,  sort of a deep dive to 
the office itself. I have done this twice in my life at least. The last job I got as Minister, I was given 
an agenda and told: tell us what you think in three months' time . These involved things so important 
that initially you may h ave an impression and an idea , but once you dig deeper and once you start 
talking to people and when you start to probe and ask the right questions and do really your 
homework and due diligence, you will actually find that there is something else. One of t he things 
that I found out in my previous job was that there was a huge gap of communication – massive. 
This was a very ambitious plan. Targets were designed using big brains, lots of consultants and so 
on and so forth – very ambitious. And when you filter  this down to the average person who is going 
to deliver it, you will see a huge communication gap. How would you know this , unless you really 
start talking to people and understand their awareness of the situation and really understand 
motivations and how  motivated they are ? One of the things that I feel  and please this is not a 
statement , this is a feeling around my discussions in the last couple of days here  – is that maybe 
we have a motivation issue within the DG 's Office. That is the feeling so far , I cannot confirm it. 
What is it that we need to do in terms of bringing people back to being more motivated? How can 
this organization and the DG's Office be a centre to attract the best talents in the market? Why 
would  people want to come here? How can we tackle the issue of technical assistance to Members? 
How can we build performance indicators and monitor them continuously? All of these should be 
done during  the first few weeks – a deep MRI, thinking about priorities , thinking about specific WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  reforms. The DG himself needs to be monitored and measured against performance , and asked 
questions by all Members. This is the right way to do it. If things do not move for years, you should 
ask why . Why is it not moving? What is  your role? What have you done about this? This is the only 
way I can operate. I have built this habit personally, every day, every night, no matter where I am, 
no matter what day of the week it is. Every day, I ask myself at night what progress have I mad e 
today – no exceptions. Progress sometimes is so little, so tiny – things like formats. One day I 
thought we are sending people a lot of formats and ask them to fill them – tedious and very 
complicated. And people , when they go into format filling, enter into something called "death by 
formats ". They just hate it , and what is the outcome? They either do it quickly with no quality , or 
delay it because they do not like it. Simplifying formats and convincing people that it is for the good 
of everyone was prog ress. So , that day I was happy. If the answer to the question : "what progress 
have you made today ?" is: "nothing for a while ", there is a question mark. Seriously, there is a 
question mark , especially at this point of time when the world is shifting very r apidly in multiple 
dimensions and the level of uncertainty , as we have discussed , is unprecedented. COVID -19 may 
stay with us for a year, two, five, I do not know. It is very difficult to assess. People talk about the 
new norm. What is this? How does this impact trade? What does it mean for everybody? Let me try 
to give you as many examples , such as  the style, the leadership, management, because I truly think 
what is needed today is leadership and management more than anything else. Technical support is 
there. This organization is very competent , I have no doubt. Talking to people, you just know that 
people are competent. When I took the job of Minister, I said to my leadership that my ultimate 
customer for the 2030 SDGs is 10 years old today – because by 20 30, he will be 20. He is going to 
enter the job market and , by that time, the objective is to make sure he will enter into a vibrant 
economy, will have access to jobs and will trust the system. Unless we start today thinking about 
that person who is 10 yea rs old, then 2030 will not happen , or when it happens it is going to be 
average – it will not be real. So , as ambitious as you want, you should think of him today – skills 
development, education, lifestyle, quality, having access to best educational facili ties, among others. 
When it comes to trade, everybody is benefitting. Women entrepreneurs are benefitting. MSMEs are 
benefitting. Governments are benefitting. How do we think about this collectively? When we talk 
about incentives and motives, are people re ally aware of the value of the negotiations? What is the 
value they are bringing to the main objectives that you have set in the first place? To fill this gap, 
we should think about measuring our performance and measuring it more frequently , including the 
Director -General. So , to answer your question – yes, of course and please do. I cannot stand and 
think about no progress or doing nothing. This is not right.  
 
Q: In light of our vulnerability, the issue of climate change and trade, and by extension 
natural disasters and trade, are of critical importance to us. What do you see as the role 
of the organization in ensuring that small island developing States like Barba dos have 
continued space to manoeuvre  in light of our vulnerability?  (Barbados)  
 
A: In terms of the environment, you have probably heard me saying this : I am all about ensuring 
performance , and the optimal goal of the WTO Agreement is to allow for the opti mal use of the 
world's resources. When it comes to the environment, there are extremes of interpretations, 
developments and challenges , but Members have agreed that it is the optimal use. There are few 
ships that we can jump in. Malaysia asked about multin ational organizations. I think SDGs is a good 
ship. And I have been personally in charge of SDGs , and the environment is in the core of it. You 
have other international organizations, NGOs and think -tanks. I will encourage the dialogue with 
specialized entities, with people who think about the environment and make an informed dialogue 
here at the WTO. But again, I go back to the nature of this organization , which is Member -driven. 
You have established your goals and you are agreeing to those goals, but any change will come 
through you. Again, I am here to facilitate, help, assist , and put everybody fairly and equally at the 
same table and try to assess the decision -making by understanding the motivations, gaps and lack 
of information, among ot hers. The environment issue is complex and is going to stay with us. It is 
not easy , but every Member has the right to address its concerns.  
 
Q: Looking at the post -COVID -19 economic recovery, what will be the role of the WTO 
and the rules based multilater al trading system , particularly considering that the 
necessary stimulus packages that are being put in place may nevertheless have an 
unintended consequence of causing further trade distortions ? As you are aware, bigger 
economies have more fiscal space , while smaller economies do not.  (Zimbabwe)  
 
A: I have been on the seat of trying to design a stimulus package to open back the economy and 
stimulate growth again. I can tell you , hands on , that this was one of the toughest mandates you WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  can ever think about. How do you actually target it based on very little information? And how do you 
make sure you then continuously measure the impact , whether you need more , and if it should be 
deployed now or later? It is very complex , and I sympathize with every policymaker  today thinking 
about these variables and thinking about all of us collectively trying to help reopen and survive the 
post-COVID -19. This is my personal view on the difficulty of the task. The role of the WTO post -
COVID -19 is going to be a game changer by all dimensions. Trade is one of the most hit functions 
globally , to start with. We go back to the same analogy of what is the direct and indirect impact of 
trade , going into deeper and deeper holes globally. So , that is critical. Demonstrating that story, 
communicating it effectively and drawing the picture of the real implications of more deterioration 
on global trade is the responsibility of the WTO. We should be proactive enough to tell the story 
supported with more evidence, science and inputs from othe r organizations , and collectively think 
about this impact. When people are generally aware of the impact, informed decisions would be 
made. I have seen this hands on. When we look at the total impact, people sometimes think 
differently about the solutions.  We definitely have a major role to play going forward – that is with 
the spirit of this organization, its mandates and its objectives. The issue to me is how do we 
communicate this going forward , and what the role of the DG is to really try and reach out to capitals 
and other stakeholders globally to make sure that the message is delivered regarding trade. I tell 
you upfront that nobody on earth has the complete solutions 100% when it comes to COVID -19. 
Even the stimulus packages that have been introduced , you have seen how volatile they are. You 
have seen how people come up with new numbers all the time and new initiatives , and how they 
even change their approach to deploying those stimulus packages. I think it is a question of also 
observing how this will  evolve ultimately on all of us. The answer is : yes, definitely we have a role , 
because of the nature of trade. Yes, some countries have been more privileged , and they are 
invested and have more ability to introduce more stimulus packages , but our role her e as a Member -
driven organization is to make sure that we collectively look at the story of trade.  
 
Q: How would your finance background bring input to the WTO reform discussions? As 
Director -General, what concrete elements would you try to include in this  discussion , also 
taking into account the prospective changes in the way that we do trade in the post -
COVID -19 economic recovery period?  (Turkey)  
 
A: The correlation between trade finance and growth is very clear. I have done banking for 25 
years , and policy recently for the last four years. If you can now have one aggregate balance sheet 
for all financial institutions, just imagine that you have one capital to deploy towards the world, the 
components of this balance sheet is high -tier where you ca n find investments, bonds, large 
corporations and multinationals. Then there is a lower segment concerning consumers , which include 
mortgages, loans and credit cards, among others. And there is this beautiful, commercial, trade -
related segment of this bala nce sheet called trade. To me, whenever I look at this  and recall my 
experience managing multinational institutions, trade was always a flow business – something we 
continuously should invest in: first, because it is cash flow , as trade always generates th is; and 
second, there is a huge set of opportunities around it , as there is a massive ancillary business around 
it. That is the technical part from my previous life. How would this be brought up here? I think the 
argument around having a discussion with st akeholders is key. I know that there is some effort , but 
the WTO should start actively to discuss trade with these multinational institutions , including 
financial institutions. I think that dialogue should take place. They should see this fresh look , 
espec ially in this pandemic. It is in their interest also to see the only entity in the world engaging 
with a dialogue. For finance people, it is all about risk , risk -taking, risk -reward and returns to 
shareholders. If they see someone like the WTO, which is th e global entity in charge of trade, I think 
they will be open -minded. This dialogue should be continuous and take many forms. We should also 
be in the debate of their own challenges around trade finance , and maybe address them back here. 
Again, we have thi s feedback loop. How can we make sure there is a continuous information - and 
knowledge -sharing within this Member -driven organization? The Director -General should play a role 
into this dialogue. That is one aspect of it. The other aspect of it is that the more uncertainty around 
us, the more volatility that I have talked about – with COVID -19 it is even worse – that capital with 
financial institutions becomes even more difficult. Allocation of such capital when it comes to 
segments that are trade -related , becomes even more difficult because it is very uncertain. What will 
happen to trade if post -COVID -19 nothing is really done? That means loss. And how does this loss 
translate to returns? Again, bringing back this confidence in the system, bringing back the agility 
and the role of the WTO by reviving it and ensuring its Member -driven nature and providing evidence 
that it is actually delivering and executing – with all of these efforts, the financial institutions would 
love it. This is great news , even if it w ould mean that they would have to assume more risk. But 
these efforts would give them something very precious : clarity. Maybe one of the KPIs should include WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  making sure that the WTO delivers more certainty to the market. That is just an idea and we need 
to discuss further. When it comes to post -COVID -19, I will be very surprised if post -COVID -19 the 
financial institutions , in particular , will come back as they used to be. They usually are late to react. 
Our role here is to make sure that , when they come bac k as a major force to support trade, they 
come back on a more informed and engaged basis. So, bottom line : will I bring all these values and 
experiences back here and try to discuss with all of you around potential opportunities on leveraging 
on that parti cular experience within the framework of the WTO? The answer is : yes, I would be 
delighted.   
 
Q: In order to facilitate the conclusion of negotiations, a successful WTO Director -
General needs to be able to operate at a political level , while mastering tech nical details. 
How would you rate your capacities in this regard?  (Latvia)  
 
A: The political will is an absolute key success factor for the success of the WTO. I will share 
something with you , and I am sure that most of you are aware of it. Only recently , with the 
Presidency of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , the G -20 initiated an idea around the future of the WTO. 
The whole objective was to try to get political will around reforms that are necessary to the WTO. In 
terms of that, I come from a country that is very trade -neutral. We adhere to the rules of the WTO 
and have always been a major and neutral partner to many of you here. The political will is definitely 
one side. I would also like to tell you that my personal approach to this is based on continuous 
dialogue and continuous improvement. This implies that , when I reach out to capitals, I would like 
to go with a very specific message and a very specific outcome. I will ask a specific set of questions. 
What is that we want? What is it that  Members want in t erms of the values that we are seeking? So , 
the political side is, I would say, fine. Everything in the world needs improvements , including this. 
When it comes to the technical side, you will ultimately face three choices in selecting your Director -
General . First, we have the very technically oriented person. Second, we have someone who is a 
technocrat and an outsider from the system. Both of them have risks. And there is a third one – a 
category in between which I call "hybrid ". This is the person with the  right technical knowledge, the 
right awareness and ability to understand things quickly, has a relevant track record, there is a 
political angle and a technical angle of some sort. You are taking a risk with this person too , but it 
is somewhere in the mid dle. The call will ultimately be what is the level of risk you are willing to 
take? The political a spects  will change , and the technical aspects will change. The question is 
leadership, management and the ability to bring in delivery continuously and make sure there is 
progress. That is what is really m issing here today.  
 
Q: What is your vision for the future of the WTO? What reforms do you believe could 
drive the process of developmental concerns for LDCs and developing countries , especially 
the African countries?  (Namibia)  
 
A: The future of the WTO will be decided by the Members. The role of the Director -General is to 
make sure, through this journey and navigation, that we provide assistance and help being a 
compass. We should provide every solution available and discuss it with Members. What I would 
ultimately like to introduce is probably five process improvement ideas every quarter – maybe you 
would like three, reject one and rethink one. So , that is the kind of approach I am proposing. Every 
quarter you will hear process enhancement ideas that will make your life easier, that will make your 
negotiations move forward, t hat will make monitoring and transparency better, that will improve 
technical assistance needed for LDCs, among others. That is the concept of process improvement 
that I would like to bring to the table and generate as many ideas as possible. In terms of A frica and 
LDCs, we definitely need to help create a positive agenda for them. I have mentioned technical 
assistance and an idea of delivery unit. If the situation is more complex, I, as a potential Director -
General, am willing to go myself and assist that technical deficiency. What is it? And how can I help 
personally , if needed , with this technical assistance? Shortcomings must be identified. Deliveries of 
the system specific to Africa and the LDCs must be identified. We would probably need to understand 
why some countries oppose the plurilateral negotiations. We need to understand the root cause. 
Why are you opposing it? I am not here to judge , I am here to help , but we need to understand 
what the root cause is , especially if the results would be implement ed on an MFN basis. Here is a 
plurilateral initiative and you can benefit from it , but still you refuse. I do not know why. We have 
to dig deeper and understand why some people refuse it , especially if they benefit from the results. 
In the same spirit, wha t is the way to encourage people to join these plurilateral agreements? In 
one way, we need to understand why they are not . We should also think of ways to encourage them 
to enter the plurilateral negotiations.  
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  Q: We are witnessing turmoil in different di mensions , including trade tensions among 
WTO Members which are having drastic and destructive spill -over effects on many 
developing countries such as mine. Most of the tensions have been figured within the 
WTO. As Director -General, how would you address th e trade tensions , and how do you 
define your role in assisting to tackle them during your tenure?  (Sri Lanka)  
 
A: If I can tel l you that I can succeed in identifying the root causes of any dispute even before 
they happen, that will already be a great succe ss for the Director -General to be able to have a 
system in place in this regard. So , when things are trending towards the wrong direction, you have 
an early alarm , you do not wait until the situation is worse and the dispute is deeper. The approach 
around finding root causes of all the issues is what the Director -General should be doing , working 
with Members, understanding issues and bringing in practice. But that is the system designed in 
terms of process reform. People go into disputes when it is probably  too late. Things happen before. 
We can hopefully help with identifying those before they happen – early warning system. This can 
be done. In the private sector, I have seen this again and again. People build scenarios not very 
much related to here , but, again, the thinking is related to here. People build scenarios based on a 
set of assumptions. They use collective wisdom , they used both quantitative and qualitative 
measures , and they actually audit these models to tell them how their outcome could be. Eve ry 
policymaker in the world use scenarios and modelling to predict how things are. In here, the issue 
is process. How did we get there? What is the root cause? The Director -General has the responsibility 
to read those signs early on. If we can do that toge ther, that is a big success. That is actually 
improvement , it is progress. Do I expect the disputes to get deeper in the future? Yes, I do. That is 
why I say the WTO must start thinking about the implementation of its necessary reforms now , 
because with more delay, this is going to be much harder in the future. This is simple logic. The 
more you leave a problem without tackling it and addressing it, the bigger it will just get , or people 
will go more out of the system and find alternative so lutions outside the system. What happens to 
trust and the brand? It will just deteriorate. My biggest fear, if this is not done now with the right 
necessary reforms, is that the drifting is becoming bigger , and more Members are now thinking 
about solutions  outside the multilateral system. And Members would face even more difficulties in 
their disputes. So , again , we are back to the same cycle of issues. Providing an early warning is the 
role of the Director -General. The DG must come and try to say that this  is trending, this may happen, 
this may lead to this – of course, in the spirit of consultation s and dialogue with all Members.   
 
Q: Development is critical to the work of the WTO , it is essential. If elected, how would 
you safeguard the interests of the d eveloping Members in this organization? In particular, 
how would you play the role as Director -General to facilitate the negotiations on those 
proposals to strengthen the S&DT provisions and make them more precise, effective and 
operational? As you may kno w, this is an issue on the table for a very long time , even 
before Doha.  (China)  
 
A: This is a Member -driven organization and the role of the Director -General is always to be 
neutral. I go back to my earlier observation around why these disputes are here. What is the root 
cause? I do not have the answer now , and it is not my responsibility to pick any political position at 
all. I am here to facilitate, assist and help as much as possible. But, fairly, the question is why and 
how we can collectively think of  a mechanism or a new process to make sure that those are now 
actually or at least measured. If there is a delay, do you a accept a month's delay or a delay of five 
years? What is an acceptable duration of a delay for you? We should always highlight the fa ct of 
delay and let Members decide how this would impact their goals. How does it impact the initial 
objectives agreed by all Members? The Director -General should come in at any time , based on the 
situation , to assist, help navigate and be the compass, the  facilitator and the person who tries to 
find the common ground and bridges any gaps. Within that, the main focus that I will bring as 
Director -General , is that process of the DG Office and how it can address those complicated, long -
term issues and find th e root causes. My impression is that , once people really know why we are 
here and what happens if we do not do anything about it, what the consequences are, the hope is 
that the process would be more informed than just doing nothing about it.  
 
Q: The grow th of protectionism in the form of unilateral, restrictive barriers to trade is 
evidently the reality of the current conditions of international trade. This problem has 
been repeatedly raised by many WTO Members. What do you think about this problem , 
and w hat actions do you envisage to address it if you are elected as the next Director -
General?  (Russian Federation)  
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  A: I will definitely emphasise the importance and bring people back to the table around the 
original objectives of the rules based multilateral trading system , and try to use every single tool 
available to me to make sure that the risk -rewards are addressed, that its impact on all of you is 
addressed , and how this deviation from the original agreement is going to help everybody and br ing 
all these argument , but also support it as potential Director -General with a lot of evidence. But 
before doing that, we need to determine the root cause. During COVID -19, we had issues with 
healthcare supplies and food security challenges. We are yet t o see and yet to understand what 
really happened. We should understand why people move into that direction and what the root cause 
is. The Director -General's role is to try to bring back people to the table. Everybody should be at the 
table. The DG should provide ideas, solutions, evidence, data and scenarios , so that when people 
negotiate and talk, they are actually more informed. Collectively, is this something you want to bring 
in as a KPI? Is this something that is worrying the Membership? We need to ask these questions , so 
we can measure if it is moving or  not down the road. When we go to MC12 and present to them our 
performance, is this something you want to present? That is it. This is what I am presenting. It is 
all about protecting the essence, the culture and the spirit of this organization ; bringing in all these 
issues back to  the table; giving my best to make sure that the approach and the process around 
negotiations, dispute settlement and transparency are addressed in a process -improvement way; 
and then collecting the evidence to make sure there is progress. As a result, we will have a collective 
measurement tool to make sure that progress is made.  
 
Q: As Director -General, what steps would you take to help ensure that workers and 
businesses across the WTO Membership are subject to market constraints and disciplines , 
given that free and fair trade based on open, market -oriented policies is a founding 
principle , or perhaps a north star of the WTO?  (United States)  
 
A: There are many changing variables and many challenging things coming our way. If we 
continue to operate the same way and do not address those external variables and do not address 
the dynamics of the world towards us, then the WTO , including all of its topics , is going to be 
challenged. My approach to this, as DG, is to first determine wheth er we are really informed about 
the impact of any variable out there on trade that we are looking for here. Is it something that we 
collectively, with the help of the DG Office, address to make sure that this organization has enough 
dynamic approach to it to address those issues? Is it something you want to be addressing as a Key 
Performance Indicator agreed by all Members? Is it something we want to measure? Against what? 
Is it something that will impact trade globally and benefit s the goals of the WTO? Th at is the 
approach. That is the DG role around this process – trying to ensure that Members' viewpoints are 
respect ed and addressed , and then come up with " what ifs" to everybody. What does this mean for 
everybody? I think every Member also deserves to see  what this means for their people . How can I 
give and take something into this? That is the role of the DG – help and assist people to navigate. I 
am not saying that this is not done entirely today. I am saying that the world has changed 
significantly. The  world is going to be worse , maybe , in the future. This extreme volatility is going 
to stay with us and maybe increase , so any issue , if addressed today , is going back to the same 
point: process, the help of the DG's Office, continuous progress, continuous  reforms, provision of 
evidence , and so on and so forth.  
 
 
3. Summing up by the Candidate3 
Your Excellencies, it is clear to everyone that the road ahead of the WTO will be very difficult. When 
we emerge from the current hardships of COVID -19 and trade tensi ons, we will need to reform and 
rebuild in order to move ahead. I believe that this effort needs to begin urgently.  
 
I have confidence in the WTO. I believe in its principles, and in its ability to deliver on the goals set 
by Members. And most importantly,  I believe in you, in Members' ability to work collectively in the 
common interest to stay strong, and bound together for our mutual benefit.  
 
As we say, [Arabic] –  
This means "In no way can you break a bundle of sticks bound together. But once they are s eparated, 
they are easy to break."  
 
3 Under the modalities for the conduct of the meeting communicated by the Chair to all delegations on 1 
and 1 0 July, each candidate had the opportunity to make a concluding statement during the last five minutes of 
the question -and-answer period if  she or he so wished.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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If you put your trust in me as DG, I will help deliver the WTO to its goal, and to maintain its path, 
True North. For my entire career in private sector and in government leadership positions, I have 
assessed problems, p repared strategies, and implemented plans to deliver on goals successfully. I 
know that the circumstances of the WTO would keep me quite busy, and I welcome the challenge.  
 
I would be honored to apply my passions and skills to achieve the worthwhile missio n of the WTO, 
and to help guide all Members to the benefits of multilateral trade.  
 
Thank you, Your Excellencies, it has been a pleasure to speak with you today.  
 
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ANNEX 8  
Meeting with Dr. Liam Fox (United Kingdom)  
1. Presentation by the Candidate1 
Your Excellencies,  it is such a pleasure to be back in Geneva. As UK Secretary of State for Trade I 
visited this organisation on 6 occasions and during my ministerial roles I have visited over 100 
countries, I suppose that is why I recogni ze so many faces here.  
 
I feel I must begin today by acknowledging the scale of the challenge the world currently faces in 
the COVID pandemic, something I hope we will be able to discuss in the Q&A.  
 
What has it t aught us? For me, it is that we now live in a world that is, beyond doubt, more 
interconnected and interdependent than at any time in the past. This has profound implications for 
the global economy, for health, for security – and of course, for trade. And we are all in this together.  
 
Yet even before the pandemic there were problems in the global trading system. We actually saw 
trade contract  in the final quarter of 2019, before  the pandemic struck.  
 
Together these mean that we simply cannot continue as if  it is business as usual. In fact, you might 
characterise it as business unusual. And the task for both international organisations and nation 
states is to rise to the challenge that it presents.  
 
The WTO is one of the key institutions in that challenge. I  believe that this is a great organisation, 
full of talent, expertise and knowledge. We have been at the heart of the global project of trade 
liberalisation that has helped take a billion of our fellow human beings out of extreme poverty in just 
one genera tion, a tremendous achievement in human history.  
 
But I know from talking to many of you, including in this last week, that there is a widespread feeling 
that things are not as they should be. Yes, there are technical issues to be overcome but the real 
problems of the WTO are not technical. Our problem is the lack of political momentum.  
 
There is too little political will to make the compromises needed for the multilateral trading system 
to evolve and too little vision to make those compromises easier. We must rediscover that political 
will and find the right language to express our vision about the opportunities that trade can bring to 
a new generation.  
 
The global public should see the WTO as having an indispensable seat at the top table of multilateral 
organisations. When people think about the United Nations, or the IMF or the World Bank, they 
should also think about the WTO.  
 
So it is not where the new DG comes from that matters but the skills and experience, especially the 
political experience, that they are able to bring to the organisation for the benefit of each every one 
of our members.  
 
I believe that my 28 years in politics, and my years serving in senior cabinet posts…  
 
…such as trade…  
 
…and representing the UK at the top table  on global issues…  
 
…give me the right experience to bring the renewed momentum, commitment and compromise, 
which will allow us to return this institution to greater global relevance.  
 
A RULES BASED SYSTEM  
I have always been a passionate believer in a rule s based international trade system.  
 
1 The presentation is also circulated i n document JOB/GC/240.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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Open trade between sovereign nations relies on stable, predictable and dependable rules. These 
rules help politicians stay honest and resist the protectionist measures which – let's be honest – 
have advocates in some fo rm in all our systems. If we adhere to, and live up to, these rules they 
can help to promote political stability and domestic economic progress, development, jobs and 
growth which is what we all want to see.  
 
And let me say this if I may – if we want thos e we represent to believe in the concept of free trade 
then no amount of abstract philosophical discussion here in Geneva will achieve it. Show people 
jobs, show them prosperity and hope for the next generation, for that is how we will be validated in 
their eyes.  
 
And I say all of this this because I fear for the rules  based system itself. There is a lack of respect 
for the implementation of what has already been agreed. When the world came together in London 
in the aftermath of a World War our predecessors , in a few short months, put together a set of 
principles that have stood the test of time. Principles to which we must recommit ourselves today – 
most-favoured -nation, national treatment, transparency of commitments.  
 
As someone who has been in the Britis h House of Commons for 28 years, I fully understand the 
temptation for politicians to skimp on the commitment to multilateralism. There are always elections 
to be won and domestic stability to secure. But what we must always remember is what the 
alternativ e to a rules  based international system would look like. Only the very strongest would get 
what they want and the rest of us? We would be left in their wake, with the smallest and most 
vulnerable at the greatest disadvantage.  
 
Free trade must never mean a free for all.  
 
CHALLENGES AHEAD  
Now, one of the first tasks for a new DG will be to deliver a successful 12th Ministerial Conference. 
The contents are, of course, for the members to agree but it is essential that the DG works with 
members to produce ideas and an agenda that, yes, excites us here at the WTO but is also seen as 
relevant outside. It must focus on outcomes, not process, helping the real businesses – large, 
medium, small and micro – upon which real prosperity depends.  
 
So what are some of our s pecific challenges?  
 
Well, despite remaining gaps, members are perhaps closer than they have been in the past to 
agreeing new rules to discipline harmful fisheries subsidies, and we must push for an outcome as 
soon as possible to meet the SDG goal set by Leaders. But, this is not just about fish, but about 
showing that the WTO can take steps on sustainability more generally – an area where members 
are rightly bringing forward other ideas, and where the public attach great importance.  
 
I know many members are also keen to make progress on Joint Initiatives on e -commerce, services, 
MSMEs and investment – these will be an important part of the discussions in the coming months.  
 
And of course agriculture. Subsidies, public stockholding for food security, cotton, and other issues 
will remain critical. This remains perhaps our most difficult challenge something that I have to say 
I'm well very aware of, from hours we spent discussing this in trade ministerial meetings. Anyone 
who doesn 't understand what this means should not be apply ing for the job of Director General of 
the WTO. But it 's difficult for a reason, because it is crucial to the livelihoods of so many of our 
citizens.  
 
Finally, many members understandably want to make progress on critical questions of WTO reform. 
Again so mething I hope we can return to in Q&A.  
 
There is a reason why all of this matters. As we emerge from the pandemic, we cannot yet judge 
what the economic damage will be. But we can bet it will lie somewhere on the spectrum between 
bad dream and worst night mare. And we know from experience that the burden could easily fall 
heaviest on those least able to support it.  
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  And that is why I 'm so concerned about the rise in trade restrictive measures taken in recent years 
which are starting to block up the arterie s of global trade – something which, as a medical doctor, I 
find a very unpleasant analogy.  
 
Last month 's WTO report on G20 trade restrictive measures showed that since 2009 the proportion 
of G20 imports covered by such measures has doubled roughly every t wo years, rising from only 
0.7% in 2009 to an astonishing 10.3% by the end of 2019.  
 
Now, as trade secretary I was a huge supporter of aid for trade and in that time the UK tripled our 
contribution through Geneva to more than £100 million per year. But wh at is the point in working 
harder to assist development when at the same time some of the world 's biggest economies are 
increasing their barriers to trade. We all need to practice what we preach and I would not hesitate 
to give that message to G20 leaders.  Our outcomes have to match our rhetoric.  
 
WOMEN AND TRADE  
Let me turn, if I may, to one of the other main issues being discussed in the current DG selection 
process, that of gender. I recogni ze the importance of this debate. Let me just make two points.  
 
First, I believe that the role of women in trade is of profound importance, and we need to ensure 
that all women can have access to the opportunities that trade brings. I am proud to say that during 
my time as Trade Secretary, the UK significantly scaled  up funding to the ITC 's SheTrades initiative, 
supporting women -owned businesses including MSMEs to access the benefits of trade in developing 
countries.  
 
Second, I think it is fundamentally wrong that trade departments and institutions around the world 
are – to a large extent – still male -dominated, and I believe this needs to change. When I was asked 
by former Prime Minister Theresa May to set up, from scratch, the U.K. 's Department for 
International Trade I was proud to appoint a woman as Permanent Secr etary, and I am proud of the 
representation of women in the department generally under my watch. I commit to you today that 
if you give me the honour of becoming the next DG then I will ensure that at least half of the WTO 's 
most senior leadership team are  women.  
 
I believe that the empowerment of women, including through trade, is a fundamental economic and 
development objective – just as fundamental as access to education or political expression. I also 
believe that in support of that goal we should send  out an unequivocal message about the powerful 
and equal role of women in trade right here, in the WTO.  
 
CONCLUSION  
I began by talking about how COVID has shown us how interconnected and interdependent we have 
become. Let me close by sharing something that  I learned in my time at the most senior levels in 
politics including as both defence and trade secretary.  
 
It is this: trade is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. It is a means by which we create and 
share prosperity. That prosperity underpins social cohesion and that social cohesion in turn 
underpins political stability. That political stability is the bedrock of our collective security.  
 
And I say this because we must understand protectionism does not come without a price tag. If we 
deny people access to prosperity and opportunity through trade then we should not be surprised if 
the outcomes, whether mass migration, political radicalisation or failing states, come back to bite 
us. 
 
As an organisation we all need to recapture that opti mism that comes from committing to shared 
values. Yes, we 've taken a billion people out of extreme poverty but that cannot remotely be the 
end of our ambitions.  
 
We need the political momentum to take us forward. It is only with vision, and shared purpose,  that 
we can find the compromises required to meet the challenges I 've set out…  
 
…reversing the rise in trade restrictive measures…  
 WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  …recommitting ourselves to the founding principles to which we have all agreed…  
 
…while updating and strengthening this ins titution so it 's fit to tackle the challenges of the 
21st Century.  
 
I believe I have the skills and experience to deliver that political momentum.  
 
One of my political heroes, Winston Churchill said in 1953 that we stand, 'at this hour…before the 
portals  of supreme catastrophe and of measureless reward '. Perhaps, just perhaps, this is such a 
moment for the WTO with the choices we face.  
 
Thank you for doing me the great honour of allowing me to be part of one of those choices.  
 
 
2. Questions and Answers2 
Q: In recent years, we have seen a rise in protectionism and trade tensions , coupled 
with increasing scepticism regarding the ability of multilateral institutions to effectively 
address current global challenges. COVID -19 increases the risks that countries wi ll turn 
inward , rather than strengthen the multilateral trading system. You have addressed this 
in your speech , but I want to be a little bit more specific : what role do you think that the 
Director -General has in building and maintaining support for trade liberalization and rule s 
based trade?  (Canada ) 
 
A: The leadership role of the Director -General is to constantly be reiterating what it is we have 
in common. We signed up to a common set of principles , we signed up to a common set of rules. 
There is little credibility in moving forward with new rules if we are not willing to implement the ones 
we already have. We have already seen what the WTO can do as part of that program of global trade 
liberalization. I mentioned it earlier , and yet we can go so much further. My worry is that we have 
almost taken for gra nted what the whole process of trade liberalization has been able to do , not just 
on increasing trade , but in the elements that also brings with it. We need to take those principles , 
we need to recommit ourselves to them and then, to an extent, reset them.  The themes for MC12 
need to be recommitment and reset. By reset I mean understanding what the role of trade is – and 
we are the guardians of those trade rules – but also understanding the role that we play in the 
objectives that we seek through trade and sharing them with other institutions. There is a lot of 
work that we can do. I think that the way that the global institutions are set up , rather reflects the 
shape of domestic governments and the silo mentality that governments have in establishing their 
system of domestic government , where trade sits on its own, economic s sits on its own, security 
sits on its own, environment sits on its own, development sits on its own. In the real world, that  is 
not how it works. We can take those basic principles, basic beliefs that have done so much for us 
and so much for the world aro und us , and extend them into the world ahead and the tasks that we 
face – but we have got to recommit ourselves to those rules. We 've got to understand that , what 
we have already agreed to, we must honour , or what we agree to in the future will be of much less 
value.  
 
Q: What is your view as regards the current proposals to reform the application of the 
special and differential treatment provisions by categorizing developing countries , 
especially in view of the fact that these provisions are embedded in the  WTO Agreements , 
and also bearing in mind that Paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration mandated 
Members to strengthen the S&DT provisions in the WTO Agreements making them more 
precise, effective and operational?  (Zimbabwe)  
 
A: I am aware of the c omplexity of the ongoing debate. Let me make some points of a general 
nature on this , and then some specific ones. This is a question of how best to integrate low income 
countries and ensure that the benefits of growth are equitably distributed. That has b een on the 
agenda of every Trade Ministers Meeting I ever attended. We need to start with the first principles 
and those that we can agree on – that shared global prosperity means that developing countries , 
 
2 The following delegations also submitted their names to ask a question to the candidate:  Afghanistan, 
Barbados,  Colombia, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, European Union, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, Indonesia, 
Ireland,  Italy, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Namibia, Nepal , The Netherlands, New Zealand, 
Norway, Panama, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Chinese 
Taipei, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Viet Nam.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  especially the poorest , must be fully integrated into the rules based international system. Where the 
WTO has delivered in the past, then it has created more prosperity than any amount of government 
aid or development could give. And yet , some of our Members still do not believe that trade has 
improved t heir lives. First, I see the role of the DG as being a bridge between north and south and 
working , of course , for all our Members. Second, the questions over special and differential treatment 
go to the heart that many people feel about the very challenges  that the organization has. I think 
that they are at heart questions about the rights and responsibilities of Members at different stages 
and development. There is a reason that we have special and differential treatment. It is a 
recognition that not all o ur Members are at the same stage of that development. Now we found 
some technical solutions , such as the Agreement on Trade Facilitation. But I think that t his may be 
a sticking plaster over a much greater problem. The reason that we have continuation of s pecial and 
differential treatment is that changes in the rules are meaningless if countries do not have the 
capacity to trade under those rules. Aid for Trade is therefore a critical part of that. For , each dollar 
invested in Aid for Trade, it can increase  exports from all developing countries by eight dollars , and 
twenty dollars from the least developed countries. When I was Trade Secretary  – my record in that 
stands by itself – I oversaw the tripling of the UK's contribution to that , and we were strong in  our 
support of the ITC's SheTrades. I would add something else to that , which is : supporting countries 
in that position cannot just be done by pumping extra money into their capitals. If we want to 
support some of those most vulnerable developing countrie s, money must be made available to 
them here in Geneva. If you do not have a voice, you cannot have any influence.  
 
Q: When we talk about vulnerable developing countries, we talk mostly about the LDCs , 
but there is also another group of vulnerable countrie s that is the landlocked developing 
countries or LLDCs. As you know, the trade volume and trade participation of LLDCs is less 
that one per cent in global trade. Transit of goods is already a problem , and transit cost is 
twice as high than that of others. This is not only a problem for LLDCs , this is also a 
problem for other Members in reaching the markets of LLDCs. Knowing this, how could 
we address the issues faced by LLDCs?  (Mongolia)  
 
A: I have learned very quickly this week in Geneva that what the UK d oes, would not be my 
goods, would not be my services. I would have to stand back from that. The point is a very fair one. 
And it is a point that I understood way back , when I first answered for development in the UK 
Government in the House of Commons , and then  was reinforced with me when I was doing trade. 
There are real, special interests as sub -groups in this debate. Landlocked States are one of them. 
Island States are another. Coastal States are another. Small and Vulnerable Economies are another. 
What do th ey have in common? They have to find ways in which they can access and be given space 
to develop the capacity to participate in the free and fair trade system. Many of these States, the 
smaller ones, are even more dependent on access to a free market , because of the limitations of the 
consumption ability in their own smaller markets. For them it is key that it works. We have to find 
ways to ensure facilitation for many of these States , and the issues that you raised are highly 
pertinent ones. There is no po int in simply having access to a global market in general if some of 
those States that have specific difficulties are not given the mechanics in practice to find ways to 
facilitate entry into those systems , which is a level of complexity which is something  that we need 
to be raising as part of the wider debate to the wider public and not just in here.  
 
Q: Will the WTO save the fish or will the fish save the WTO? I am referring here on the 
ongoing fisheries subsidies negotiations. The critics of the WTO say that the consensus -
based decision -making in the WTO has been responsible for the slow progress in the 
negotiations and its ability to produce timely outcomes. As Director -General, how will you 
intend to address this issue?  (India)  
 
A: I love the way you ph rase the question , because it also makes it a win -win situation for both 
fishing and the WTO. As a politician, I find that a very attractive premise to the question. There is 
no doubt that, yes, it is correct. The way that we do business here through conse nsus is difficult. 
There cannot be anyone who sat through any length of negotiation that does not understand that. 
But the prize is also a very great one when we can achieve it. How would we bring extra momentum 
to this process on fisheries? I think it is going beyond seeing it as simply an economic issue , but also 
as a sustainability and an ecological issue as well. We can harness some of the power of public 
opinion out there , which really does believe that we all have a duty to create a viable industry in  
fishing. Many countries depend on it , sometimes massively disproportionately for their income. We 
need to understand that , but we also have to understand that we all have a duty in husbanding 
global resources. Public opinion can be used to help countries understand how important that is. I WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  know that people have different views on climate change , but I think that one thing that even climate 
sceptics, of whom I am not one, have to understand is that we have a duty to maintain and husband 
global resources. We  do not own the environment around us. We simply manage it for the next 
generation. Sustainability of stocks, the health of our oceans , are absolutely key in my mind to 
dealing with a whole range , not only of those economic , but ecological issues as well  – and where 
we can actually tick both boxes at the same time. I do think we get a win in terms of the negotiations , 
but we get a win for this organization when the world outside understands that we are more than 
just about the rules of trade , but we underst and the consequences of trade as well.  
 
Q: The utility and the relevance of the Enhanced Integrated Framework is beyond the 
demonstration stage on how it would help LDCs. As Director -General, how would you 
ensure support to the EIF and its Secretariat to b e able to martial the necessary funds for 
inclusive and sustainable development to LDCs , particularly those in Africa and those 
severely impacted by COVID -19? (Mali)  
 
A: Congratulations on your ingenuity of getting at least three major topics in one questi on. They 
are all extremely important topics. The first concerns the point that I was referring to earlier , which 
is the interaction that this organization can have with other international organizations and what we 
can manage to develop in terms of more jo ined up policy. The first thing I would say is : we have to 
understand in this organization what we are and what we are not. We are about the maintenance of 
rules based trade. We are about keeping trade moving as the lifeblood of the global economy. We 
are not the UN and we are not the Security Council , and therefore other disputes need to be taken 
in the appropriate fora and not overlapping into this one. But we do have shared interests that are 
not our primary objective. We are not UNCTAD , but we have a ve ry strong role in development. We 
are not primarily responsible for the environment or climate change , but yet it is a very big part of 
what we want to do as part of that joined up thinking and action. The first that I would like to do is 
to see us utilize  that relationship better. I would like to see more working papers shared between 
those different organizations. I would like to use the expertise that is out there to be able to deal 
with some of the issues. One of the problems that we sometimes get is wi th definitions used by the 
international financial institutions. Let me give you one of them. If you look at some of the island 
States, they may well be regarded by those financial institutions as high -income countries if you 
measure it by GDP per capita – that is if you measure it by GDP per capita in a good year. If you 
measure it in a GDP per capita in a hurricane season, you may find that there is a massive swing 
between them. In terms of the information that we use in our categorization, maybe we require 
flexibility from some of those institutions to look at the timescale over which we measure GDP per 
capita , and not as a  snapshot. That is a concrete example of where we need to be. In a whole range 
of issues , including COVID -19, as a doctor myself, we should be cooperating more with the WHO in 
the current situation. What can we be doing in a COVID -19 emergency to help thro ugh trade achieve 
the objectives that they have set? In a world that is joined up in reality, we have got to ensure that 
the governance tools for that world do not sit in silos that are inappropriately segmented. We need 
to be able to bring the expertise, the information, the knowledge, the data that exists in many of 
these places and the expertise to bear on areas where we have shared interests , if not shared 
primary responsibility. As DG, that is one of the things that I would love to see happen. It is on e of 
the things that I was very keen to see happen in the UK where we were better able to marry up our 
development, our economic and our trade policies. That is one of the main challenges that we face 
and one of the main aims that I would have as Director -General.  
 
Q: This organization is facing existential challenges. Canada just asked you a question 
on protectionism. My question is on unilateralism. Among all those challenges, 
unilateralism probably is the biggest threat to the multilateral trading syste m. In your 
personal view, what can the WTO do to fight against unilateralism and defend 
multilateralism?  (China)  
 
A: It is enormously flattering when someone asks what your personal views are. In this case, 
however, my personal views entirely correspond to  what my views as Director -General would be. 
So, we have a happy coincidence. I believe we already have a set of rules that is set out. It is not 
an à la carte  menu. We need to commit to the rules that we have already agreed to , because if we 
do not agree to those rules – and it is an open, liberalizing, rules  based global trading system – we 
cannot choose which rules any of us want s to see , and which ones we are happy to discard. That is 
important for the running of the system as it is , but it is also impo rtant for the credibility of any of 
the challenges that we are likely to face in the future. If we are not willing , any of us, to meet the 
legal and treaty commitment we have already signed up to, what do you suppose the value of our WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  signature on any futur e rules or any future treaties  would be ? It is a question of credibility , as well 
as the running of the rules based system itself. Everybody has to understand that where we have 
had in the past, that commitment to shared values and shared goals, that is wh ere we have done 
the best for those that we represent.  
 
Q: How do you understand the WTO reform? Could you elaborate and specify major 
elements?  (Lithuania)  
 
A: In all my time in politics, one of the greatest lessons is that the shortest questions are usua lly 
going to be the worst questions in terms of their difficulty. In this case, this is an issue upon which 
I place great priority. You can take that question o n the WTO reform at a number of levels. We have 
the practical levels , we have the conceptual lev el, we have the policy level. What are the different 
levels of reform and the urgency in them that we need to have? I was in the UK asked to reform our 
Ministry of Defence. Let me tell you : whatever the challenge of reform in the WTO, it is nothing to 
having to reform a department whose budget is £ 36 billion , but has an overdraft of ten in real time. 
I relish the challenge of reform. First of all, let us look at the practical issues that we need to have. 
I look at what I would call the importance of team a nd organization. First of all, in team, the head 
of any organization has two options in the type of team they have. You can have the number twos 
in your team that are relatively weak because that gets you your own way all the time. Or you can 
have very str ong number twos in your team , who will tell you that you are maybe doing wrong, tell 
you to wind it in if you are going too far , and pushing your leadership ideas , or that you need to step 
up if you are not. I have always valued that second model. In polit ics, I have always ensured that 
my teams were such that were I to be ran over by a bus tomorrow, my department would continue 
to operate seamlessly. Of course, the danger in politics is that it makes some of your colleagues to 
want to be bus drivers. The k ey element there is that in an organization when you have a Director -
General who travels, we have got to make sure that we have the top level who are able to get this 
organization operating at its maximum all the time. Because of the Member -based nature of  this 
organization, it is important that those who are in the senior team are willing to say to the Director -
General : "remember at all times that this is a Member -driven organization. You may have strong 
views yourself , but you need to back off sometimes." Having people who have got the strength to 
say that to you is important. In terms of the organization, the Secretariat is great , but you have to 
ensure that we are not spending too much time on legacy issues and spendi ng time on the issues 
that are emerging and we will have to face in the future, and also that the workload in the Secretariat 
is even , so that you are getting the best out of the people. So , that is the practical and the people 
side. And then there is the conceptual element which has been mentioned a number of times and 
that is the commitment to the rules based system. I would hope that at MC12 our themes would be 
to recommit and reset. We have to get that commitment to the rules based system. We cannot be 
an à la carte  menu. We need to obey the rules we have all already agreed to. Of course , we also 
have the policy challenges. Fishing has already been mentioned. The Appellate Body is another one 
to be able to get these things running. All these different el ements  – some more exciting to the 
outside world than others  – are important in getting an organization to be operating at peak 
efficiency. Those of us who have actually had to run big organizations with big budgets and very 
large numbers of staff, we have  the scars to show when we have gone wrong , but we have also got 
the flags to wave where we have gone right.  
 
Q: Do you agree that there is an insufficiency in the WTO rules with regard to fair 
competition on the international stage , particularly with rega rd to government 
intervention in certain economies? If you share this point of view, how do you think it 
would be possible to improve and to level the playing field among Members?  (France)  
 
A: As in many things, the core answer to the question is understanding what our objective 
actually is. That is, as I have said earlier, to make the benefits of a liberalized, free trade, fair trade 
system available to as many people as possible , first of all b y understanding that we do require 
differential treat ment, so that those at different stages of development are able to access the 
benefits of the system incrementally over time. The key to that is the aiming point, not the snapshot. 
If we are able to grasp that we have to have a variable geometry on this , then we diminish some of 
the difficulties and frictions that we sometimes have. Accepting that we do not all come from the 
same place, we might all want to get to the same destination and we might be doing it at different 
speeds , enables us to have the pati ence and the compromise that is inevitably involved in creating 
those differentiations , and sometimes, at least for a short term, slightly different ways in which we 
interpret the rules going forward. This is where we need to maintain this focus on our sha red 
aspirations. Focusing on the aspirations suggests that where we all want to get to , is a common WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  place. We are not having different rules for the sake of it. We are having slightly different rules 
because they are necessary , if we genuinely want to brin g the benefits of our trading system to a 
wider and wider section of countries , their peoples and their businesses. I see it not as an intellectual 
differentiation , I see it as a pragmatic one , and there is nothing wrong with pragmatism.  
 
Q: How can pluril ateral initiatives contribute to the strengthening of the multilateral 
trading system? Do you have ideas on how plurilateral agreements could be best 
integrated into the WTO system?  (Romania)  
 
A: The first that I would say to that , is that we are a multila teral organization and the gold 
standard of anything we agree is a multilateral agreement. I sat through those long discussions in 
Argentina at MC11 , agonizing over this issue of plurilateral versus multilateral. The emergence of 
some of the plurilateral i nitiatives really were an expression of frustration about the lack of progress 
we were able to make in some areas. The attitude you take to plurilateral agreements vis -à-vis 
multilateral agreements is in part pragmatic, in part philosophical. If you see pl urilateral agreements 
as a clear alternative to multilateral agreements, then you somewhat missed the point of the 
establishment of the World Trade Organization. If , on the other hand , you see plurilateral 
agreements as a steppingstone whose ultimate desti nation is a multilateral agreement , then you 
have conceptually something quite different. In practice, if a plurilateral agreement does not have a 
destination of a multilateral one, there are questions about the use of the Secretariat and the 
resources of the WTO. On the other hand, if we do see it as something that would be available to all 
Members when they are ready to take part and something that is open and generous , but ultimately 
has the destination of a multilateral, that is something that I can liv e quite happily with. It is not the 
preferred outcome , it is not the gold standard , but sometimes we have to make progress because 
that is what the people outside expect us to have in an organization that perpetually goes through 
meetings with lots of process and little outcomes , which  is very hard to validate in the eyes of those 
people we represent.  
 
Q: How would you propose to revive the WTO's negotiating arm to ensure global 
trading rules remain relevant to business and WTO Members?  (Australia)  
 
A: You begin that with how genuinely committed are we to those basic principles? One of the 
essential roles of the Director -General has to be to point out the importance, as I have set out 
earlier, of the principles upon which we were established – the value that all of the different elements 
and parts of the negotiations are able to bring when they have the political backing behind them. 
Many of the problems we face are not technical issues. They are about the political will to make 
them happen. When we have the consensus, when we have the shared goals, we are actually able 
to do a great deal. A lot of time is spent in saying what are the technical obstacles in our way to 
making this part of the organization or another part of the organization work , when in fa ct our 
problem is lack of political commitment. When we have that political commitment, it is the key to 
unlocking a whole range of the issues that the organization has in taking different parts of our 
agenda forward in different places.  
 
Q: Trust is an e ssential element for successfully concluding negotiations at the WTO. 
One challenge faced by the system is how to create this trust among Members. What could 
a Director -General do in this regard? How could we avoid the abuse of the use of the 
principle of consensus in taking decisions? What can be done to facilitate consensus? Are 
there alternatives to the rule of consensus in cases of institutional paralysis?  (Costa Rica)  
 
A: That is such a profoundly important question. What is trust? For me, trust is our  confidence 
in the ability of others to deliver on what they had promised in a whole different range of scenarios 
– in our personal lives, professional lives, institutional lives. Trust comes from two things : it comes 
from experience and having good experi ence of other people delivering on what they promised ; it 
also comes through verification and the ability to ensure that there is transparency in the process 
and that what we are being promised is what we are being delivered. That is the most basic. That i s 
how I would regard what trust is. It takes time. It takes a lot of effort. If I may, in my previous 
existence as a doctor, in dealing with patients, it takes time to build that relationship of trust and it 
comes because they do not get any surprises. The y are given good information. They are given 
transparency in that relationship. That holds in a whole range of other relationships. Yes, again, as 
I mentioned earlier, it is difficult to build that in a system that requires consensus. It is , of course , 
a huge challenge. Are there alternatives to paralysis? Yes. We have found institutional measures in 
terms of trade and plurilateral agreements to find other ways forward , even though they may be a WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  steppingstone to the same end. But the transparency in what we  do is key. On that issue of link 
between transparency and trust, if we do not have transparency, how can we get good quality trade 
negotiations? If we do not know exactly what we are negotiating to implement, how can we get good 
quality within those agree ments? Trust and transparency are two sides of the same coin. We have 
to develop the mechanisms for that. It also helps if you have someone who can see both sides and 
who can recognize that both sides may have a case , even if they do not agree in everythin g together , 
and building consensus is an essential role I see of the Director -General , because that consensus 
can lead to better transparency  and that transparency can lead to better trust. It would be very 
different in an organization where you can just s lap the table and implement change. If we want to 
implement change, we have got the added difficulty of reaching consensus , and consensus without 
trust is infinitely more difficult than with it.  
 
Q: Regarding the dispute settlement system, on the issue of the Appellate Body, this 
organization is now faced with a big challenge. If you were elected as Director -General, 
how would you approach this issue to restore its function?  (Japan)  
 
A: As I mentioned in my initial presentation, this is one of the main chal lenges facing the new 
DG and it is one of the main issues in the run up to MC12. Providing a forum to resolve disputes is 
one of the most important contributions that the World Trade Organization makes to the global 
trading system. I believe very strongly in the rules based system , but that system needs an effective 
dispute settlement system enabled to ensure that the rules that we have collectively agreed are 
enforced. Over this last week, many of you have said to me that the current challenge we face is 
the inevitable consequence of the failure to take decisions in negotiations which have forced the 
Appellate Body to fill in some of the gaps. Others have said that the Appellate Body has gone beyond 
the mandate provided for it. Equally, some of the concerns  of Members have been technical concerns 
about the way that the system has developed over time. And I think that there may well be elements 
of truth in all of these , and I think that they have to be looked at in the round , and not as conflicting 
challenges  to the system. If I may , let me  say to Ambassador Walker that the work he has done on 
possible solutions has taken us a number of steps forward and provide a very positive basis for 
future conversations. But if I am being very frank, we have to understand  that it is not just technical 
issues that we face on this particular problem. Again, as I said in my presentation, it is a political 
issue. Do all Members want the Appellate Body to be up and running? If we all do , then compromises 
can be found to enable us to go forward. Regarding the MPIA, having a temporary solution can only 
be a temporary solution. It cannot be a replacement to a long -term settled view of what we actually 
want to get from the system. If we can get an agreement, it is great , we can move  forward together. 
If we cannot get an effective dispute resolution settlement at the WTO, the rules based system itself 
comes under threat. When we consider the political elements of this particular dispute, we will do 
well to remember what the consequenc es of failure would be , as well as the rewards of success.  
 
Q: We were very happy to hear the word agriculture in your opening remarks. What are 
your views on the WTO agriculture negotiations? Should it be part of the MC12 package? 
What is your view on the  role of the WTO in opening markets in agriculture and 
significantly reducing trade distorting domestic subsidies?  (Brazil)  
 
A: It is important we make progress , because frankly there is one major global crisis out there 
that we need to be putting more of our attention towards , and that is the COVID -19 crisis and our 
role in that. And so , we need to try to deal with some of these legacy issues as much as we can , 
because it takes up a great deal of our time and energy , understandably. There is a reason why 
agriculture has its own special, separate agreement. That is because governments have a 
fundamental obligation to make sure that their citizens are fed. As a po litician, I understand that. 
Agriculture also has important ecological and cultural considerations , which add to the complexity of 
the issue. I was there in Buenos Aires. I am very familiar , after long hours spent in some of those 
rooms , about the issues. Members have an idea where they want to get to , but the compromise is 
essentially very difficult politically. That is why we have taken such a long time. The DG's job is to 
build the trust that Costa Rica mentioned , and to make those compromises easier. Do  we have to 
end distorting subsidies? Well, that is the aim of this organization – to end distorting subsidies and 
barriers to trade. Very often we talk about one , but not the other , and they must go hand in hand if 
we were to make real progress. The reaso n why I mentioned the COVID -19 crisis is that up until 
now our situation in getting an agriculture agreement has been difficult. Maybe we are making a bit 
more progress than we had in the past , but I am afraid that we may find that the COVID -19 crisis 
accentuates some of the differences and some of the difficulties we face in the global economy , 
including in agriculture. It may well be that , going forward, we find that , at least in the short term, WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  our task does not become easier , but becomes harder , because  it is harder to get the political 
compromise and the consensus required. That is very said, but that is not something that is within 
our control . You asked : should it be a major element in MC12 ? Yes, it should. In a perfect world , we 
would be saying : this is our priority, this is our priority, this is our priority . We must be very careful 
in this organization that we do not over -promise , particularly in the coming months , because the 
agenda that we might want to have in "business as usual " may not be a lux ury we have in "business 
unusual ". I would love to say to you : yes, we made progress , and w ith a bit more help, 
encouragement of political consensus, we might get there. I am afraid, I have to be honest with you 
and say that I fear that the consequences of  the pandemic might make it more difficult in the short 
term rather than easier. Going back to my earlier career, I always found it easier to get the 
agreement and compliance of my patients if I actually told them what they needed to hear rather 
than what they wanted to hear , because giving people false confidence actually , in the longer term , 
undermines your credibility. I am sorry. Normally, I am a very optimistic person and I would like to 
give you a more optimistic answer , but we have to be hard -headed and realistic about the potential 
of the COVID -19 pandemic and what it may do to some of the complexities we already have in this 
organization.  
 
Q: What is your view on South -South Cooperation and the establishment of new South -
South value chains , especially on how to uplift them?  (Morocco)  
 
A: As UK Trade Secretary, I was very involved in the Ministerial Meeting that we had with 
Commonwealth Ministers back in 2018. One of the areas we looked at was how to help countries 
develop intra -regional trad e in a much better way than we have in the past . One of the practical 
ways in which we did this was to try to get people to understand what the differences may be 
between their economies that actually provided difficulties in diminishing those barriers to trade and 
increasing trade between countries. His Excellency from India would remember that we set out what 
we described as a trade audit. We said : how can we look at our economies and see where we can 
reduce the gap between us on a sector by sector basis to be able to make it easier for us to have 
better trade and come to, in the longer term, trade agreements ? We looked to see in all those sectors 
where the difference s were, where we could through market access or regulatory reform. If we do 
the preparator y work, if we understand better what the data is around some of these issues, then 
we can actually make very substantial progress. Inter -regional trade and south -south trade is a huge 
potential in global growth. Sometimes we forget that we are not the Worl d Trade Agreement 
Organization, we are the World Trade Organization. A great deal of what we want to do and what 
will improve the laws of the people we represent , can be done through market access, de -regulation 
and understanding the complexities of the di fferences , rather than embarking endless ly on trade 
negotiations ending up in either multilateral, plurilateral or bilateral agreements. Getting the best 
data available is important in that. If countries are looking to establish better interregional trade,  
we can do a lot with other global partners , whether it is the international financial institutions , or 
the OECD , to provide better data. I have always taken the view in my professional work that you 
make your best decisions when you have the best amount o f empirical data in front of you. One of 
the problems that we often have is a lack of detailed knowledge of the workings of some of the 
systems, some of the differences that we have. If we can help , especially some of our small 
Members , gain the insight an d the knowledge that they require to make good decisions going 
forward, it is one of the biggest contributions we can make. It is not going to make frontpage 
headlines across the world , but it is what we are here for. It is one of the reasons why we were 
established – to increase trade so that we can improve the ability of people at all levels of 
development to access the benefits of a rules based system. There is tremendous opportunity for us 
to take some of those initiatives forward. It is one of the key elements , perhaps even in the post -
COVID -19 environment , of how we will able to get that global economy recovering and be able to 
get trade moving. So , thank you very much. You have made me feel more optimistic after my last 
answer to the question from our  colleague from Brazil.  
 
Q: I want to follow up on my colleague from Japan's question about dispute settlement. 
You suggest there might be a lack of political will. I am wondering whether there is a lack 
of common vision about the appropriate role of dispu te settlement in the WTO. In your 
view, is it the job of appellate reviewers here at the WTO to establish precedent, create 
jurisprudence , and issue binding, authoritative interpretations of the WTO Agreements , 
or is their role a more limited one to helpin g Members resolve their specific disputes on a 
case by case basis?  (United States)  
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  A: In British politics, rule number one is never accept the premise of the question without 
questioning the question itself. I am very grateful to the Chair for the fact t hat we are allowed in 
this forum to ignore the questions if we think we have dealt with them before. Believe me, that is 
not a luxury you get in the House of Commons. What I would go back to , is why was the Appellate 
Body created. It is there because we be lieve that the dispute panel of the GATT went too far, that it 
was taking into account elements that it was not really designed to do. Therefore, it came into a 
quasi -judicial system to narrow down the scope of those judgments – that I find from the legal 
background of my country a very acceptable thing to do. We need to look at the scope of the 
Appellate Body to ensure that it is not going beyond the remit that was originally intended. There is 
a danger with every institution of mission creep , and we have to make sure that that is dealt with. 
Do I think , in limited cases, very tightly drawn, there could be the setting precedent? I think yes , if 
it was very tightly drawn. Do I think that in general it is a principle that we should accept without 
limitations?  No, I don't.  
 
Q: Members have entrenched positions across the three functions of the WTO: 
rulemaking, trade monitoring and dispute settlement – issues that are very much 
pronounced in Paragraph 30 of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration. Coming from Africa, a 
continent that continues to face Twentieth Century developmental challenges, we need a 
WTO that is able to bring the Members together and chart a way forward for inclusive 
development that leaves no one behind in accordance to the SDGs. As prospe ctive 
Director -General, what strengths do you bring that can offer the Membership the comfort 
that we will not in the future arrive at a position where we agree to disagree , which of 
course paves an undesirable picture of trade being a zero -sum game?  (Bots wana)  
 
A: I would , again , go back to a n umber of the points that I made earlier. First of all, the key 
element is to emphasise our shared vision. When we understand what it is that we have achieved 
together and can achieve together , then we are able to make some of the compromises more easily. 
The reason why I went back to what we did in 1946 and 1947 was that, at that time, in a very 
broken world around us, we had a real understanding that , if we worked together, if we were willing 
to give and take, if we were willing to make the compromises necessary, we could create something 
much better than that which had gone before. In many respects, that challenge is just the same 
today , and I wonder whether the dislocation that may be coming in trade as a result of the pandemic , 
may give us an opportunity to understand that mindset in future better than perhaps we do today. 
That is the first thing I would say. What do I personally bring? As I said earlier, having done a 
number of governmental jobs, including answering in the UK Parliament on the issue of development 
and having travelled very extensively . It is one thing for politicians to have read about things. It is 
quite another for politicians to have seen things for themselves. And in my e xperience, when 
politicians have been exposed to the reality of a situation rather than just the facts on paper, it can 
produce a very different response. Back in my early days in politics, I was responsible for a British 
aid project in improving drainage and sanitation in Kolkata . Before I went to see it, it was an 
academic exercise. After I had see n it for myself, I completely understood the importance of what 
that spending on behalf of the UK taxpayer actually meant to people on the ground. An 
understand ing of the real world, having seen it at all different levels of development, is key to being 
able to, in all situations, see the perspective from both sides. That is necessary in building trust, in 
building consensus. Concerning not being ideological but being pragmatic, all of us have our strong 
views. If we did not all believe in a rules based trading system, we would not be here. But those 
basic ideals apart, we cannot take a hard ideological view of the challenges we face , or we will not 
allow ourselve s to take advantage of one of the greatest things that we have in the human spirit , 
which is the ability to compromise and the ability to see the best , even if it requires ourselves to 
make small sacrifices. It is not possible , especially in an organizatio n that operates in consensus , for 
us to move forward , unless we all accept the principle that we cannot all always get what we want 
and that sometimes we have to make sacrifices   sometimes difficult political sacrifice  – to take 
forward those shared ideals  and create new achievements. And we will need new achievements 
because , yes, we have got the legacy issues , but we will face new challenges ahead in the post -
COVID -19 environment. What will we do when we find that we have a world where a lot of the 
financ e that was used to deal with the short -term issues of COVID -19 requires the attention of more 
developed countries in terms of their ability to deal with sovereign and corporate debt? There are a 
whole range of new issues coming down the line. What are we g oing to do about the orange 
economy? What do we do about the tech gap that will be cruelly exposed by what is happening at 
the present time? All these challenges are best met when we understand that we have to be able to 
learn to be pragmatic and compromis e. If we all say that this is exactly what we want and if we do 
not get it, nobody moves forward. Then a consensus -based organization like this one , which has WT/GC/M/185  
 
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  achieved so much in the past , will not be able to replicate that in the future. If I believe in a nything 
passionately, it is that we have the talent. I also believe we have the innate direction and desire to 
take forward many of the challenges we have , in a way that is beneficial to us all. But we all have 
to learn that we cannot always get all of wha t we want , at least not all the time.  
 
Q: Besides concluding the fisheries subsidies negotiations , would you have any ideas 
on how the WTO and its Director -General could concretely contribute in delivering the 
Sustainable Development Goals?  (Finland)  
 
A: The first things is understanding what it m eans in terms of our basic aims , which is how do 
we spread the benefits of a rules based trading system to as many people, countries and businesses 
as possible. The SDGs are key to that. I would go back to the poi nt I made earlier that the core 
principle here is how we will allow countries at different levels of development and capacity to have 
the breathing space to be able to maximize the benefits of the system that many of us already take 
for granted , because we  have long had the capacity and capabilities. So, how do we manage this 
wider process? How do we deal with some of the other issues – not just access to trade but the 
ongoing climate crisis which I had hope we might have talked about more today? How do we 
incorporate our concepts around Aid for Trade? How do we include concepts around food security? 
How do we improve productivity? How do we deal with market distortions, barriers to market and 
unacceptable subsidies? All of these have to be taken together. A nd I think , if I may say , that in 
some of the elements we have discussed today, part of our problem is that agriculture, SDGs, 
fisheries , are seen as separate rather than connected issues. In many ways , they are hugely 
connected. In many ways the climate c hange issue is the one that does connect them. Understanding 
all of those in a more holistic way is key. How do I think they can be taken forward? I think by 
understanding that we have got to get away from the silo mentality of seeing some of these issues 
as completely independent and separate , and trying to get the organization itself to operate in a 
way that allows some of that cross -referencing which, let's face it, out there in the rest of the world 
we take for granted , and maybe we have to do a bit of catching up in the way we think about some 
of these challenges.  
 
Q: What could be done to martial the political will you s o pertinently underlined , 
precisely to revamp the agriculture negotiations that, as you know, are mandated within 
the agreement? As yo u said, COVID -19 has created a new situation , but as you also said  
that food is essential for any one of us. Perhaps you could provide us with examples of 
new approaches and new methodologies that we could use to revamp these negotiations?  
(Uruguay)  
 
A: One of the problems that we face is that, if you ask our domestic populations at the end of 
the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s : "what are the most relevant organizations in the world ?", they would 
have said : "the WTO ". One of the reasons that we find it difficult to  get political momentum is that 
our publics have disconnected in their interest in what we do , because they do not see a direct link 
between what we talk about and what they are interested in. We talk, understandably at times, 
about ideological distraction s, about philosophical differences. What people out there want is jobs, 
they want prosperity, they want hope for the next generation, they want sustainability, they want 
us to understand the ecological consequences of what we do. The first thing in getting  our 
governments to give greater attention to the issues , as I said in a holistic way , is to reengage the 
public. I do not think that we use some of the tools effectively. Here we are in the year of social 
media and we do not use it enough. We are not usin g the communications that we could in the way 
that would bring our people together. For example, if we want the fisheries to put pressure on elected 
governments around the world, there are a lot of NGOs and environmental organizations who can 
be mobilized to say that if we cannot get agreement , then the sustainability, the quality of our 
oceans, the quality of the environment and the planet we live on will be diminished. Do we do enough 
to try to bring those different elements of our societies together to c reate a political climate in which 
it is easier for politicians to make those compromises? No, I don't think we do. If I were to pick a 
single element of where we need to make progress, it is that. We need to reconnect with civil society 
and get them to un derstand that much of what they want , could be done in this forum , but they 
have a role in applying some of the pressure to their governments to be willing to make the 
compromises without which a whole range of the points that could have been raised in thi s forum 
this morning will not be possible to conclude.  
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  Q: What would the role be of the Director -General as regards promoting the 
organization's image before the eyes of the civil society and the business community?  
(Paraguay)  
 
A: The role of the DG is to express in a relevant way to a different generation what the WTO is 
for and what it has achieved. I go back to the point that I made earlier. Taking a billion of our fellow 
human beings out of extreme poverty in just one generation is an unparalleled ac hievement in 
human history. But how many people out there understand that we, the WTO, had a role in achieving 
that – not alone , but a role in achieving that? How many of them understand that many of the issues 
that they are concerned  about , we actually ma y not have unique responsibility for , but we have 
some role in ensuring that we can get the outcomes that the y would want to see? First of all, there 
is a conceptual intellectual role of setting out why we are who we are , and what we actually have 
achieved  in the past. It really annoys me when people say : "the WTO does not work ". The WTO has 
been one of the most successful organizations that we achieved in the post-World War II 
environment. That I think is key. How do we start to get the messaging right abo ut what we can , 
and have done? There is an element about how we run ourselves. That is a very key role for the 
Director -General. And that's , I think , in the team that the Director -General runs and in the wider 
sense amongst the Members that , if you allow m e to use a UK analogy , it's first among equals. That 
is a very important concept in terms of how we see the role of a DG in a consensus organization. 
This is not someone who can just, as I said, slap the table and get their own way. You have to work 
a lot harder at this. The role of the DG is in making the case that , if we are all willing to give a little 
bit here and there, we can actually make that progress. So , we have to get the message out to the 
wider world out there about what we have done and what we can do if we act together , and internally 
understand that there has to be this search for consensus , there has to be an element of pragmatism , 
there has to be an element of give and take. Then you've got where we really need to be. And I still 
do believe , hand on heart , that this organization can have its best days ahead of it. It certainly will 
have some if its biggest challenges ahead of it , but we better get ourselves into a good fit shape to 
be able to deal with those. It is possible , it won't be easy , but you show me anything that was 
worthwhile that was easy.  
 
 
3. Summing up by the Candidate3 
Thank you, Chair and thank you to all Members for the opportunity to answer such a wide range of 
searching questions. I know from speaking to many of you this wee k and during my many visits to 
Geneva over the past few years that despite the great achievements of the WTO that I just referred 
to, there is a feeling that we need to regain our drive and our direction. The next Director -General 
will need to steer this o rganization through the economic consequences of a global health crisis that 
now risks frankly undoing some of the progress that we have made in recent years. And we cannot 
pretend that it will be "business as usual ". At the same time, the Director -General  will need to work 
with Members to renew the spirit of the WTO and make it fit for purpose for the 21st Century. It 
cannot simply be held back by the stalemate of the decades past and vision, which has come up a 
few times during our questions . It is someth ing that we should not be embarrassed about or 
something that we should shy away from as an organization.  
 
As I mentioned, before I was an MP for 28 years before I had the honour of working as our Defence 
Secretary and Trade Secretary in the UK . I practiced as a doctor. I worked in our National Health 
Service for about ten years. In that time, I think I learned four skills that I think are vital for the 
next Director -General. First, be authoritative enough to have difficult conversations. I know the 
organization has got great talent and great technical ability , but it needs political momentum. 
Serving in senior cabinet posts over the past years, I had conversations that have led to real, lasting 
and positive change , but they have seldom been easy or painless. And I believe I can help return 
this institution to the global relevance I believe it deserves. Second, be focused on first principles 
and do everything on the basis of the best information available. The question about inter -regional 
trade wa s a classic example of how we need to make that happen. Third, be a good listener and be 
intuitive enough to understand when to intervene and when to step aside , and let other s act on your 
behalf. And fourth, set up a system that genuinely does work for ev eryone. You cannot be healthy 
 
3 Under the modalities for the conduct of the meeting communicated  by the Chair to all delegations on 1 
and 1 0 July, each candidate had the opportunity to make a concluding statement during the last five minutes of 
the question -and-answer period if  she or he so wished.  WT/GC/M/185  
 
- 98 - 
 
  if one part of your body is neglected and you cannot maximize economic health if some are left 
behind.  
 
As Director -General, I would be genuinely dev oted to establishing a system whose benefits can be 
accessed by everyone. I l earned from my previous profession that if you do not listen, you won't 
come to the right diagnosis. But also, if you don't have the right experience, you are unlikely to 
provide the right treatment. This is a great organization , but it can be greater stil l – which is why I 
want to run for the position of Director -General. And let me finish on this point. Almost everything 
that we do in our private lives, in national service, in international life , is binary – either we shape 
the world around us , or we will  be shaped by the world around us. I believe in this organization. We 
have the principles , we have the experience , we have the ideals to shape the world around us in a 
better way. We are going to face major challenges in the future , but perhaps the greates t one is 
whether we have the courage to take up the challenge that will be placed before us.  
 
 
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