JOB/GC/238  
 
24 July 2020  
(20-5128) Page: 1/3 
General Council    
 
 
GENERAL COUNCIL - 15, 16 AND 17 JULY 202 0 
APPOINTMENT OF THE N EXT DIRECTOR -GENERAL  - MEETING WITH THE CANDIDATES  
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PRESENTATION TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF T HE WORLD TRADE ORGAN IZATION BY 
AMBASSADOR  AMINA C. MOHAMED  
16 JULY 2020  
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 recognize 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 respond to your questions.  
4. Let me start by setting out the thre e 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 all 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 ve ry 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 of negotiations at the beginning of the century. 
Trade tensions have inc reased 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 
Depressio n. 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 scenario. 
History tells us how the stifling of trade through protectionist r eactions 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 behaviour.  JOB/GC/238  
 
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  8. It is our duty to make sure that the multilateral trading system is al lowed 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 there 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.  
10. Once r ecovery 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 c ome 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 positive 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 technologie s. 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 around elements that all can support. We need to brea k 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 reflect the changing realities of how trade is condu cted; 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 this means openness to change 
and to new ideas, wi thin 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 high er 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 outcomes. All Members should contribute to trade openi ng 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 neighbours are at stake. The African Continental Free Tra de 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 on ce 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 prepared 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 JOB/GC/238  
 
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  trade developments around the world. It is the support provided through tech nical 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 which 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 clear ly related to trade. We need to encourage 
all these institutions to cooperate closely in delivering their mandates in a coherent manner.  
22. The WTO should give effect to its development objectives in a practical and enabling way, not 
forgetting its special re sponsibility 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 Gener al 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 bodies, 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 building 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 Technology 
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 strong advocate for the value of the 
multilateral trad ing 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 comm it 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.  
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