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WT/GC/M/144  
 
4 July 2013  
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General Council 
14 May 2013    
 
 MINUTES OF MEETING 
HELD IN THE CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD ON 14 MAY 2013 
Chairperson:  Mr  Shahid Bashir (Pakistan) 
1  APPOINTMENT OF THE NEXT DIRECTOR-GENERAL - STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN 
1.1.  The Chairman1 recalled that, in keeping with the Procedures for the Appointment of 
Directors-General adopted in December 2002 (WT/L/509), the process for the appointment of the 
next Director-General had started in October 2012 when delegations had been provided with information on the nomination phase of the process. Following the close of the one-month 
nomination period on 31 December, the nine candidates nominated by their Governments had 
been invited to meet with Members at a formal General Council meeting held on 29-31 January this year. At that meeting, each candidate had made a brief presentation, including their vision for 
the WTO, followed by a question-and-answer period. In line with the procedures, the Candidates 
had also had a three-month period, i.e. until 31 March, to make themselves known to Members and to engage in discussions on the pertinent issues facing the Organization.   
1.2.  He further recalled that, before the beginning of the consultation process he, together with 
his colleagues in this exercise – Mr Jonathan  Fried (Canada), Chair of the Dispute Settlement 
Body, and Mr Joakim Reiter (Sweden), Chair of the Trade Policy Review Body, acting as Facilitators – had convened an informal meeting of Heads of De legation on 13 March, respecting the principles 
of transparency, inclusiveness and full participatio n. Guided by the views expressed by Members at 
that meeting, he had announced at a subsequent meeting of Heads of Delegation on 19 March the organization of work for the further process, as well as the start of the consultation process 
stipulated in the Procedures.  The statement he had made at the meeting on 19 March could be 
found in document JOB/GC/39. 
1.3.  In accordance with the process outlined  on 19 March and the 2002 Procedures, three rounds 
of consultations had been conducted by the Facilitators and himself, starting on 2 April.  The 
organization of work for these three rounds had been the same.  In each round, Members had been asked to come forward to express their preferences.  They had consulted Heads of 
Delegation in their capacity as representatives of Members, and arrangements had been made to 
consult non-resident Members directly, including meeting in person with those present during the 
Geneva week. All the information received from Members had been treated in strict confidence. 
1.4.  He noted that he and the Facilitators had reported back to the membership at informal HODs 
meetings at each successive stage of this consulta tion process.  His statements at each of these 
three informal HODs meetings – on 12 April, 26 April and 8 May – had been circulated to all Members in documents JOB/GC/40, 45 and 50, respectively.  He and the Facilitators had been 
gratified by the high level of engagement show n by Members, and he thanked all Members for 
their constructive participation in the process. 
1.5.  Consistent with the organization of work  outlined in JOB/GC/39, the clear preference 
expressed by Members was to have only two candid ates in the final Round. In this regard, he 
thanked Mr Herminio Blanco and the delegation of Mexico for having paved the way for the 
decision the General Council was about to take, as set out in their statement at the HODs meeting 
                                               
1 The Chairman's statement was circulated as JOB/GC/52. WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  circulated in JOB/GC/51. He and the Facilitators appreciated their commitment to the institution 
and to the multilateral trading system, and their readiness to join a consensus. 
1.6.  He wished to formally pay tribute to all nine candidates in the process.  He was sure all 
Members agreed that there had been nine exceptionally qualified candidates who had, throughout 
the process, demonstrated their high regard for and commitment to the multilateral trading 
system, and their faith in the operation of its ru les and procedures.  He paid tribute to their 
respective Governments and Geneva representatives for the dignified manner in which they had 
conducted themselves in the process.  
1.7.  He also wished to say a few words about his two friends and colleagues in this exercise – 
Mr Jonathan Fried and Mr Joakim Reiter. They had been selected by the Members by consensus 
when appointed to chair their respective bodies, and in accordance with the 2002 Procedures, they 
had taken on the role of Facilitators in this process. Throughout, they had worked with dedication 
on Members' behalf, at the expense of the other activities which they had to undertake as Permanent Representatives of their countries. He recalled that together, they had often been 
referred to as "the Troika", and he wished to put on record their integrity, their impartiality and 
their commitment in helping this difficult process work in the best interests of the WTO and all of its Members.  The membership owed them a great debt, as he also did, and he wished to thank 
them most sincerely on behalf of all Members for having been part of the team.   
1.8.  Turning to the business of the meeting, he recalled that, at the informal HODs meeting on 
8 May, he had said that, in keeping with the provisions of paragraph 19 of the 2002 Procedures, he, supported by the Facilitators, would submit the name of Mr Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo as 
the candidate most likely to attract consensus and recommend his appointment by the General 
Council as the next Director-General of the WTO for a period of four years, following the expiry of Mr Pascal Lamy's term of office on 31 August 2013. 
1.9.  Accordingly, he formally recommend that the General Council agreed to appoint Mr Roberto 
Carvalho de Azevêdo as the next Director-General of the WTO for a period of four years as from 1 September 2013. 
1.10.  The General Council so agreed. 
1.11.  The Chairman stressed that a strong message had been sent that the WTO could take 
decisions by consensus and follow intricate proces ses seamlessly. There was a need to carry this 
momentum further. He was confident that the me mbership could work together for a positive 
outcome at the Ministerial Conference in Bali.  On behalf of the General Council, he extended warm 
congratulations to Mr Azevêdo on his appointment as next WTO Director-General.  He had no doubt that Members would work with him positively and constructively during his tenure as 
Director-General, especially in the present year as the organization prepared MC9. He was sure he 
spoke on behalf of all delegations in wishing him well as he prepared to take up his post. 
1.12.  He reiterated his appreciation for the constructive approach taken by all Members in 
developing consensus in the appointment process. He recalled that, when he was elected 
Chairman of the General Council in February, he had said that there were two major challenges in the year ahead. Members had just successfully met the first challenge, and now had to put all their energies into the second one – a successful meeting in Bali.  
1.13.  The Director-General congratulated the Chairman and his colleagues in the Troika for 
conducting this delicate process in a smooth, tr ansparent and inclusive manner, which compared 
favourably with a number of other international organizations. He also commended the whole 
membership for their positive engagement and for the constructive spirit they had shown 
throughout this exercise. He believed that the proc ess had also been an example of efficiency - it 
was concluded well ahead of its deadline - another sign that the organization was always capable 
of delivering positive results when all Members worked constructively together towards a common 
goal. The important result of this process was that Members had appointed the new Director-General whom they believed as the most apt to lead the organization for the following four years. This was a moment of unity for the WTO family, in which one could briefly put aside the day-to-
day concerns to look at the bigger picture of what the organization represented and of its 
fundamental values: openness of trade for the benefit of all, non-discrimination, fairness, WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  transparency. And of all this with the overriding objective of encouraging sustainable development, 
raising people's welfare, reducing poverty, and fostering peace and stability. The common belief in and commitment to these values was what united the 159 Members of the WTO. The Director-General had to embody these common values and be at the service of all WTO Members. He was 
convinced that Mr Azevêdo would do just that.  He  also wished to warmly congratulate Mr Azevêdo 
on his appointment and to wish him well as he prepared to take up his post.  He stressed that Mr Azevêdo could count on his full support as well as that of the entire Secretariat. He intended to 
work to ensure a smooth process of transition, so that Mr Azevêdo could hit the ground running as 
he took office on 1 September. 
1.14.  Mr Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo, Director-General designate, said it was a great honour for 
him to address this special session of the General Council. Members had accepted the 
recommendation made by the Troika therefore concluding the long process of selecting the next 
Director-General of the WTO. His functions as Perm anent Representative of Brazil to the WTO were 
coming to an end but, on the positive side, he would continue to work with Members in a new and 
very challenging capacity.  It was not his intention to speak at the present meeting as the new 
Director-General. This was not the moment to offer plans of action a vision for the future of the Organization. He would have an opportunity to do that, at another occasion, when the transition 
from the current DG, Pascal Lamy, to the next DG was formalized. He wished to confine himself to 
a few remarks on the selection process and to words of gratitude. He noted that this selection process had been particularly challenging. Members had had to choose from a field that, beside himself, included eight outstanding candidates. The number and quality of the candidacies ensured 
that, regardless of the result of the selection process, the WTO would be very well served at the 
DG position. He had nothing but praise for the qu ality and level of the campaigning carried out by 
all candidates and their respective governments. They had all promoted their candidacies with 
utmost dignity and respect to the system and its Members.  
1.15.  In this context, he expressed gratitude to the government of Brazil, which, at all levels, and 
consistent with the directives that guided the DG selection process, had supported his efforts to 
make himself and his views known to all Members, both in Geneva and in capitals. There was a lot 
to say about these efforts and about the people in volved in them, but this, together with many 
other things, he would leave for a future occasion. The fact that the process aimed at building consensus among Members, as was the practice in the WTO, had compounded the challenge. 
Reaching consensus was certainly a lot more complex than simply counting ballots. It required that 
all delegations participated constructively and in good faith in consultations that had to ascertain more than just the degree of support enjoyed by the candidates. The major advantage of a 
decision reached by consensus was that it added legitimacy to the choice.  All Members were 
responsible for the outcome of the process and committed to working closely with the new Director-General in pursuing the goals and prin ciples that guided the Organization.  The new 
Director-General, in turn, had to act in the best interests of all Members.  
1.16.  He further said that the formal directives that outlined the WTO selection process were not 
an exemplary model of clarity or predictability . Despite these shortcomings, the Troika, after 
consulting Members, had decided on rules of procedure that had allowed for a process to run its 
course in a sound and stable manner. The process had certainly been inclusive and all Members – 
without exceptions - had had a chance to express their preferences throughout the various stages 
of consultations. The Troika had carried out its mandate in such a way that the new DG would be 
in a position to start his term without having to heal the wounds of a divisive and caustic process. 
In this instance, the new DG and the Members would be ready to immediately start working towards solving the most pressing challenges faced by the Organization. Bali, an important event 
for the Organization at this critical juncture, was just around the corner and there was no time to 
lose. WTO members, therefore, owed special recogn ition to the excellent work carried out by the 
keepers of the process, Mr Bashir, the Genera l Council Chairman, and Messrs Fried and Reiter. 
Members – and he – could not thank them enough. Their competence and hard work had been of 
paramount importance in steering the Membership  towards the outcome that had been accepted 
by consensus today. 
1.17.  He also wished to express his deepest gratitude for the support he had received from all 
categories of Members in the three rounds of consultations. Developed, developing, and least 
developed countries across the world had extended him their confidence and he intended to do everything in his power to honour their confidence  and trust. Regardless of their size, geographical 
circumstances, and level of development, all Members benefited from a predictable, rules-based WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  multilateral trading system, embodied in this or ganization. The Director-General of the WTO had 
the duty of working with all Members to strengthen the system and to make it responsive to the needs and challenges of the entire Membership. In his term, I would do his best to unremittingly help Members in building consensus and achieving the goals set out in the Agreements 
establishing the World Trade Organization. 
1.18.  He also thanked the Director-General, Pa scal Lamy, for his generous offer to help him 
during the transition period that started today an d stretched until the end of August. He said he 
certainly had a lot to learn from his experience and the WTO had a lot to benefit from a smooth 
and orderly transition. Words of praise and gratit ude for the legacy of Pascal Lamy to the WTO 
were in order, but he would rather do that at a more appropriate future opportunity. 
1.19.  In concluding, he recalled that he had been working in and with this organization 
continuously for the past 15 years. He had seen it in much better days. He pledged to all Members 
that he would work with them, with unwavering and steadfast determination, to restore the WTO 
to the role and pre-eminence it deserved and had to have. This was a conversation that had to be 
continued in September, and he was looking forward to it. 
1.20.  The representatives of Morocco, on behalf of  the African Group, Nepal, on behalf of the LDC 
Group, Dominican Republic, on behalf of the Informal Group of Developing Countries, Chinese 
Taipei, on behalf of the RAMs, Chile, on behalf of GRULAC, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on behalf of 
the Asian Group of Developing Members, Jamaica,  on behalf of the ACP Group, Trinidad and 
Tobago, on behalf of CARICOM, Oman, on behalf of the Arab Group, Barbados, on behalf of the 
SVEs, Brunei Darussalam, on behalf of ASEAN, Burkin a Faso, on behalf of the C-4, Korea, Kenya, 
Ghana, Jordan, Canada, Russian Federation, Togo , on behalf of the Ambassadors of UEMOA, 
United States, Argentina, Turkey, EU, also on be half of Croatia, Qatar, Mozambique, Uruguay, 
China, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Japan, Sout h Africa, Guatemala, Hong Kong, China, Egypt, 
El Salvador, Cuba, Honduras, Angola, Bangladesh, Gabon, India, Solomon Islands, Peru, Lesotho, 
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Namibia, Swaziland, Nicaragua, Bahrain, on behalf of the Gulf Co-operation Council, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Rwanda, Ethiopia (as an Observer), 
and Iran (as an Observer) took the floor to welcome Mr Azevêdo's appointment.
2  
1.21.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
_______________ 
 
 
                                               
2 All the statements made are reproduced in Annex I to the present records. WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  ANNEX I 
STATEMENTS BY DELEGATIONS 
 
1. Morocco (for the African Group)  
 
On behalf of the African Group, I would like to thank and congratulate you, Mr Chairman, and your fellow facilitators, the Ambassador of Canada, Mr  Jonathan Fried, and the Ambassador of Sweden, 
Mr Joakim Reiter, for the outstanding way in which you conducted the process to select the 
Director General.  I would also like to pay tribute to each of the nine candidates who legitimately ran for the position 
and who all deserved to be appointed. Our thoughts go to our two African candidates, Ms Amina 
Mohamed (Kenya) and Mr Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen (Ghana). The African Group was deeply disappointed to witness their unt imely and unfair elimination. 
 
The African Group welcomes the results announced by the Troika on 8 May. We were pleased to join the consensus that led to the appointment of Mr Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo as the new 
Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). 
 On behalf of all the African countries, I would like to extend our sincere and warm congratulations to Mr Azevêdo, and assure him that he has the full support and cooperation of the African Group. 
 
The African Group recognizes this impressive outcome and wishes Mr Azevêdo the very best in the important role that has been entrusted to him at this critical time in the history of the 
Organization. 
 We also acknowledge the dignity, courage and high  level of responsibility shown by the Mexican 
candidate, Mr Herminio Blanco, in accepting the results of the selection process, much to his credit 
and that of his country.  The African Group is pleased that for the first ti me, the WTO will be led by a diplomat from a 
developing country and more specifically, a Latin American country. This is a great source of 
satisfaction to the developing countries in general and the African countries in particular. The appointment of Mr Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo as Director General of the WTO strengthens the 
African countries' determination and their hope that, in the near future, they may be able to work 
towards the selection of an African to lead the WTO.  
The vast experience that Mr Azevêdo has acqu ired over several years at the head of the 
Permanent Mission of Brazil to the WTO, his diplomat ic skills, his ability to listen, his professional 
qualities and proven expertise in trade negotiations are all assets that will help him to successfully carry out his mission at the helm of the WTO. 
 
Mr Roberto de Azevêdo was appointed today as Dire ctor General by consensus. However, it should 
be underlined that he was selected mainly by the developing countries. It is no secret that the 
majority of preferences in his favour were expr essed by the African countries, which means that 
they have legitimate expectations for his mandate.  
With this in mind, I would like to present, on this ceremonious occasion, the following priorities of 
the African Group:  (1) Mr Azevêdo's repeatedly stated commitment to the development dimension of the Doha 
Round should be reflected in his future strategy as  DG of the WTO, because it is important that the 
Doha Development Agenda remains at the heart of the WTO mandate.  
(2) His first obligation as DG of the WTO should be to ensure the successful outcome of the 
Ministerial Conference in Bali, with a balanced and satisfactory package for all Members and the development dimension at its core. 
 WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  (3) Thought should be given to the post Bali chal lenges facing the WTO, a process that needs to 
be both transparent and inclusive because the futu re of the WTO is of interest to the entire 
Membership in these times of economic uncertainty.  
(4) One of Mr Azevêdo's lines of action shou ld be to defend and promote the multilateral 
negotiation system, in order to halt the gradual marginalization of the WTO that has ensued from the proliferation of plurilateral agreements such as the proposed EU US Transatlantic Partnership 
and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement. 
 (5) Member States should be involved in the pr ocess to appoint Deputy Directors General. The 
DDGs are not merely colleagues of the Director  General; they are senior officials of the 
Organization and are accountable to Members. Give n the upcoming conference in Bali, the African 
Group accordingly urges the appointed Director Ge neral to favour competence, in depth knowledge 
of WTO affairs, experience of multilateral trade negotiations and the political support of regional 
groups in the profile for the next Deputy Direct ors General, while respecting the principle of 
equitable geographical distribution.  
Lastly, the African Group believes that, with the new Director General, the WTO must strive to 
remain the Organization that codifies the rules regulating world trade and not only those governing dispute settlement and the provision of technical assistance. Hence the importance of electing a 
Director General from a developing country and the hope it has created. We therefore trust that 
the consensus that led to his appointment will give him the authority, legitimacy and the mandate 
to successfully complete his mission and meet the expectations of WTO Members.  
2. Nepal (for the LDC Group) 
 The LDCs Group deeply admires the exemplar y manner in which you, Mr. Chairman, and 
Ambassadors Jonathan Fried and Joakim Reiter have accomplished the responsibility entrusted to 
you. You started with an unprecedented number of nine candidates and handled each round of the consensus-seeking exercise in an efficient and transparent manner, fully in line with the words and spirit of the 2002 Guidelines. You all deserve our sincere appreciation for the excellent job done. 
 
On behalf of the LDCs Group, I welcome the una nimous decision to appoint Ambassador Roberto 
Carvalho de Azevêdo as the next Director-G eneral. The LDC Group congratulates Ambassador 
Azevêdo on his great success and believes that the organization will benefit from his diplomatic 
skills, rich experience and expertise.    
Members have trusted Ambassador Azevêdo to head the WTO at a critical time. The Doha Round 
of negotiations has stalled and DDA is yet to be delivered. We all have been saying that much depends on the success of the Bali Ministerial. But the road to Bali has not been easy so far. We hope the new DG will be able to keep up to this urgency and will do his best to revitalize the DDA 
towards a successful conclusion. LDCs strongly believe that their meaningful integration into 
multilateral trading system will remain a top priority for the new DG. We wish Ambassador Azevêdo a successful term in office and look forward to working closely with him. 
 
Finally, the LDCs Group thanks all candidates who participated in the process. Every one of them 
was highly qualified and had conviction and commitment to offer the best service to the 
organization. Participation of such distinct people in the process is itself an honour to the 
organization and speaks of its importance in volume.  3. Dominican Republic (for the Info rmal Group of Developing Countries)   
 
On behalf of the IGDC we would like to congratulate you, Mr Chairman, and the other members of the Troika for the exemplary way in which you have carried out the selection process for the new 
Director-General of this organization. 
 The Group we represent would like to express its tremendous satisfaction for having had the 
presence of the candidates - they Group could, th rough their presentations, appreciate their high 
technical quality and the depth of their knowledge and experience.  We congratulate them because 
this shows enormous interest by the Members of this organization which you yourself stated last Wednesday.  We would like to acknowledge the nine  candidates for their e fforts and dedication and WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  the confidence in the work of this organization, in particular the candidate of Mexico, the former 
Minister Blanco for his efforts.  We would like to congratulate the candidate ch osen by consensus by the Members of this 
Organization - the distinguished Ambassador of Brazil, Roberto Azevêdo, who was highly 
appreciated by our Group.  We would like to congratulate him and extend the support of the Informal Group of Developing Countries for the success of his mission as head of this organization 
en route for the Ministerial Conference in Bali and the conclusion of the DDA. 
 Before concluding, I should like to express the sa tisfaction of the people and government of the 
Dominican Republic to Amb. Azevêdo. 
 
4. Chinese Taipei (for the RAMs)  
The RAMs Group wishes to register its sincere a ppreciation of the hard work undertaken by the 
Troika, Ambassador Bashir, Ambassador Fried and Ambassador Reiter, which has resulted in the successful selection of our next Director-General.  
 
The RAMs would also like to warmly congratulate Ambassador Azevêdo on having been selected as the new DG, and the Group stands ready to continue its constructive engagement with him in this position over the coming years. 
 
On behalf of my capital and my mission, I would like to sincerely thank the Troika again for their hard work and contributions in conducting this Director-General selection process, which went 
smoothly and efficiently and has succeeded in finding us a new Director-General. 
 I want to express our hearty congratulations to Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo on his being 
selected as the new Director-General. We believe that he has the outstanding expertise, 
experiences, abilities, and the leadership qualities to help move the WTO towards members’ aims of strengthening the role of the multilateral trading system.  
We wish him every success in his mandate. We will continue to make sure of our strong support in 
pursuit of the worthy aims and common value of this organization.  
5. Chile (for GRULAC) 
 The Ambassador of Paraguay and coordinator of GRUL AC is out of town and has asked me to say a 
few words on the appointment of Roberto Azevêdo as Director General of the WTO starting this 
September.  It is a pleasure for our region to have "one of us" at the head of the WTO. Although this is the first 
time in history that a Latin American has the ho nour of presiding over the multilateral trading 
system, it is not a chance occurrence. In fact, many of the countries that negotiated the GATT in 1947 were from our region. 
 
Latin America and the Caribbean therefore have a long history of commitment to an international system based on clear and predictable rules. This became evident once again during the process to 
select the new Director General, in which three of the candidates were well known officials from 
GRULAC: Ms Anabel Gonzalez, Mr Herminio Bl anco and of course, Mr Roberto Azevêdo.  
 We know Roberto well and are familiar with his high  level of professionalism and dedication to the 
issues of this Organization. He has a full understanding of the WTO at both macro and micro 
levels, and as he comes from a developing country, he is directly aware of the problems faced by less advantaged countries. Therefore, he indisputably has the skills and ability to lead this 
Organization, especially during these difficult ti mes for the world in general and particularly for 
trade.  
We wish Roberto every success and reiterate our support for his appointment. We know of his 
passion for football and hope that not only will he  step up ambassador matches, but also that he 
will act as a good team captain in order to put the WTO back into the league of international organizations that set standards for world trade. 
 WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  On a last note, I do not know why, but I have th e feeling that right now Roberto Azevêdo must be 
thinking of another Roberto, Roberto Carlos, the famous Brazilian singer who sang the song "I want to have a million friends". And to get a million friends, you have to start somewhere. He can include GRULAC among his friends. 
 
6. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (for As ian Group of Developing Members) 
 
The Asian Group wishes to express its profound appreciation to each of the nine candidates as well 
as to their nominating countries. The extraordinary strength of each of the candidates for the position of Director-General reveals a great deal not only about them as individuals but about their nominating countries. All of the nine candidates have extensive experience and high qualifications 
in the multilateral trading system and have the competence and skills that best merit the 
organization’s top job.  
Faced with such a highly-qualified field of candidates, the task of Members and of the Selection 
Committee was challenging. We thank the Chair of the General Council, Ambassador Shahid Bashir, as well as his two facilitators, Ambassadors Jonathan Fried and Joakim Reiter, for their 
diligent consultations with Members and outstanding efforts that have been undertaken to 
conclude the appointment process very successfully.  The fact that Ambassador Azevêdo ultimately emerge d from this distinguished field following such 
a rigorous appointment process with support along the development spectrum and across 
geographic regions is a testament to his many qualities and his longstanding commitment to the WTO and to the world trading system. Ambassador Azevêdo, you have our warmest 
congratulations. The Asian Group has had the privile ge of working with you in Geneva for the past 
five years, and our collaboration during that time  and in previous years gives us every confidence 
in your ability to meet the significant challenges facing this organization. And we would like to 
confirm our readiness to work with you in a constructive and cooperative manner in the future. 
 Before closing this statement, let me express the appreciation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to 
you and the two Facilitators for the conduct of the selection process; all the candidates and the 
nominating Members for their dedication to our organization; and the Members and their 
distinguished representatives who all actively took part in this important process. I also would like to express our sincere congratulations to Ambassador Azevêdo and wish him success in his new 
challenging position and assure him of the readiness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to working 
with him and the membership to reinforce this organization and its overall contribution to economic development.  
 
7. Jamaica (for ACP Group)  Mr Chairman, let me thank you and the facilitators, Ambassador Jonathan Fried and Joakim Reiter, 
for so effectively steering the unique and difficult WTO DG Selection Process to a successful 
conclusion.  
The ACP Group extends its sincere congratulati ons to our friend and colleague Ambassador 
Roberto Azevêdo who has earned the trust and conf idence of our Group and the wider membership 
and is today selected to be our next Director-General. 
 
Ambassador Azevêdo' s selection from a field of nine eminent candidates is itself testimony to our collective recognition of his extraordinary skill, experience, knowledge and leadership honed in service to his country, his region and here in the WTO. 
 
We in the ACP recognize that Ambassador Azevêdo assumes office at the WTO's moment of truth.  Within his first semester in office, our Organization will be faced with decisions that will shape, if 
not determine, the fate and viability of its multilateral negotiating pillar. 
 We are confident that with our collective commitment to seek solutions and the capacity that 
Ambassador Azevêdo will bring to his role of Direct or-General and Chairman of the TNC, we should 
be able to overcome the formidable challenges that lie ahead on the road to Bali and deliver a successful MC9 - thereby, restoring confidence in the negotiating pillar of our Organization.  WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  We are also confident that Ambassador Azevêdo will remain seized of interest and concerns of all 
members including especially those most challenged in their efforts to integrate into the MTS, developing countries in general, and LDCs and small and vulnerable economies in particular. 
 
In closing for the ACP, we congratulate Ambassa dor Azevêdo and assure him of our Group and our 
delegation's full support.  
Now speaking for Jamaica, let me associate my delegation with the words of commendation 
expressed by Chile on behalf of GRULAC and to be  expressed by Trinidad and Tobago on behalf of 
the Caribbean Community.  Our region GRULAC, from  which our new DG comes, recognizes and is 
proud of his contribution. We are proud that our region was able to present two excellent 
candidates who stood in our final round, Mr. Herm inio Blanco of Mexico and Ambassador Azevêdo. 
My delegation congratulates Ambassador Azevêdo and assures him of its full support.  
8. Trinidad and Tobago (for CARICOM) 
 The CARICOM Group wishes to acknowledge your and your Facilitators’ role in conducting the 
selection process. The task was not an easy on e and the Group is pleased with the manner in 
which the process unfolded.  This has stre ngthened our confidence in the system. 
 The CARICOM Group also extends congratulations to Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo on his 
appointment as Director-General.   
 Ambassador Azevêdo’s reputation is one of a patient and skilled negotiator and seasoned trade 
diplomat. We are therefore confident that he has the intellectual, technical and managerial 
competencies and diplomatic skills to lead the orga nization. These skills will be significantly tested 
in the run up to the Bali Ministerial Conference in December and in the immediate aftermath as we 
seek to chart a new course for the WTO and the multilateral trading system in general. 
 Ambassador Azevêdo can rest assured of the CARICOM Group’s full support as he takes the helm of the organization at this critical juncture. We in the CARICOM Group are certain that he will work 
valiantly to continue to advance the negotiations in ways that reflect the true spirit of the Doha 
Development Agenda, particularly as they relate to addressing the unique circumstances of small, vulnerable economies such as ours in the Caribbean Region.  
 
I now take the floor in my national capacity. Trinidad and Tobago joins others in expressing congratulations to Ambassador Azevêdo.  For us, his appointment is even more noteworthy given 
he is the first Director-General from the Latin American and Caribbean Region. 
 Ambassador Azevêdo has identified Aid for Trade as one of the key pillars of his tenure as Director-General.  My delegation welcomes this since for small economies such as Trinidad and 
Tobago, Aid for Trade is a critical element in our efforts to more effectively compete in the 
international trading system.  In this regard, we look forward to engaging with Ambassador 
Azevêdo as he works to build on the solid foundation made by DG Lamy in the area of Aid for 
Trade. 
 In conclusion, my delegation extends the very be st wishes to Ambassador Azevêdo for a successful 
and rewarding tenure. 
 9. Oman (for Arab Group)  
The Arab Group would like to congratulate Mr Roberto Azevêdo and welcome him as the next 
Director-General of the World Trade Organization . The Arab Group is looking forward to working 
with Mr Azevêdo on issues of interest to the Arab  region and to finding ways to move forward the 
Doha Round.  We assure him of the Arab Group commitment to the multilateral trading system in 
WTO.  
We would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the nine candidates for the DG position 
especially the Jordanian candidate Dr Ahmad Thougan Hindawi and thank them for their contribution and participation in this process.  WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  Allow me now to make this statement on behalf of my delegation.  The Sultanate of Oman would 
like to welcome Mr Roberto Azevêdo and extend its heartiest congratulations to him on his appointment as the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization. Mr Azevêdo is a very well-known diplomat in Geneva, and we are confident that his strong abilities will contribute to and 
assist in strengthening the multilateral trading system.  Oman is looking forward to working closely 
with Mr Azevêdo and he has our full support in his efforts to conclude the Doha Round. We assure him of our readiness to work with him to mo ve the multilateral trading system forward. 
 
10. Barbados (for SVEs)  On behalf of small, vulnerable economies we wish first to thank you, Mr Chairman, and other 
members of the Troika for the efficient management of the selection process. We thank you for 
your diligence.  
We wish to congratulate Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo on his selection as the next Director-
General of the WTO. We also commend him for the dignified manner in which he conducted himself and as did all the other candidates. Indeed, we thank all the  highly competent slate of 
candidates for their participation. 
 WTO is at a critical stage in its evolution and there is much hope and expectation that this stage in the life of the organization will augur well for al l Members. Mr Azevêdo is a competent diplomat, 
highly experienced in WTO matters and is familiar with SVE issues. 
 SVEs stand ready to work with the new Director-Gen eral in all future efforts to revitalize the 
organization and enhance its image as it strives to retain its place at the centre of the multilateral 
trade negotiations.  SVEs look forward to working with you and wish you well.  
11. Brunei Darussalam (for ASEAN) 
 We would like to express our appreciation and thanks  to the Troika for their leadership and diligent 
efforts in ensuring transparency, inclusiveness and full participation in the selection process in 
accordance with the 2002 guidelines. 
 Undoubtedly, the task you have undertaken together with your two facilitators was indeed 
challenging given the unprecedented number of outstanding candidates.  The fact that all 159 
Members participated in the process and that we were able to complete our work in a timely manner a testimony to the Troika's good management of the selection process. 
 
Allow me to express our congratulations to Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo for his appointment of the next Director-General of the WTO.   
ASEAN hopes that he can bring a new energy into this house and facilitate Members' efforts at 
delivering a successful outcome at the 9
th Ministerial Conference in Bali. 
 
ASEAN also calls upon Ambassador Azevêdo to be an exemplary Director-General that practices 
full participation, inclusiveness and transparency in all decision-making for the benefits of all Members, big or small. 
 
Finally, ASEAN wishes him great success and looks forward to working closely with him.  12. Burkina Faso (for the Cotton-4) 
 
On behalf of the sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Ambassador Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo, who has just been 
appointed as the next Director-General. 
 We firmly believe that, with his expertise, expe rience and know-how, he will add value to our 
negotiations and to the Organization itself, as all good successors should do. 
 Ambassador Azevêdo will have many challenges befo re him, including the long standing deadlock 
in the Doha Round of trade negotiations, which has gone as far as to generate uncertainty 
regarding the future of the WTO as a negotiating forum. WT/GC/M/144 
 
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I can assure the Membership that the C4 will contribute, as it has consistently done with previous WTO Directors-General, to the success of Roberto Azevêdo's mission at the head of our organization. 
 
I would also like to express our appreciation to the nine candidates who ran for the position of Director-General of the WTO for the commitment th ey showed to the multilateral trading system. 
 
Now that the process to appoint the Director-General of the WTO has come to a close, we should focus our attention specifically on making preparations and ensuring a successful outcome for the Ninth Ministerial Conference, which is scheduled to be held from 3 to 6 December 2013 in Bali, 
Indonesia. If the Bali conference is successful, it will be the first step towards concluding the Doha 
Development Round and meeting the objectives pursued by the WTO in general.  
The C4 would like to pay a well-deserved tribute to the current Director General, Mr Pascal Lamy, 
and all his team for the work carried out at the helm  of the organization over the past eight years. 
We are grateful to Mr Lamy for his ongoing support and decisive action to move forward on both 
the trade and the development aspects of the cotton issue. 
 Finally, the C4 thanks the Troika for successfully and promptly concluding the complex process of selecting the Director-General of the WTO. 
 
13. Korea  
First of all, we would like to extend our heartf elt congratulations to Ambassador Robert Azevêdo of 
Brazil as the next Director-General of the WTO.  We also wish to offer our warm congratulations to his Government. 
 
Indeed, Korea has taken the selection process over the past five months very seriously.  It was because, beyond the fact that we had put forwar d our own candidate, we strongly believed that 
the greater overarching importance of this exercise  has been to find someone who, at this very 
juncture, would be able to lead and keep this este emed organization as rele vant as it should be. 
 In this regard, we hope and trust that Ambassador Azevêdo as the new DG will help the 
Membership not only to renew their sense of urge ncy and determination, but also to enhance the 
levels of genuine cooperation and understanding so that Members will be able to first make the Bali Ministerial a success and then subsequently to achieve a timely and successful conclusion of 
the DDA negotiations, thereby further strengthening the multilateral trading system. 
 Along these lines, I can assure you that my delegation will work closely and constructively with Ambassador Azevêdo in his capacity, as the new DG and Members move ahead to address these 
and other challenges, as well as opportunities, which present themselves to this global body. 
 Last, but not least, we would like to express our deep appreciation to you and the other Members 
of the Troika for the wonderful job throughout the whole selection process. 
 14. Kenya 
 
Thank you for your report of 8 May 2013 on the outcome of the final round of consultations.  Unlike the second round of consultations, this time and as you rightly reported, all Members 
participated in the consultations. We would like to state for the record that Kenya did not 
participate in the second round of consultations pr ecisely for the reasons that we shared with all 
members through our statements and subsequent communication in JOB/GC/44 of 12 April 2013. 
 
You will recall that at the end of the first round of consultations, we expressed our displeasure and reservations at the manner in which we thought the selection process was proceeding. We outlined 
the principles that we strongly felt had not been  adhered to, resulting in a predetermined outcome. 
 We did this in a constructive spirit of engage ment aimed at strengthening the system. Our goal 
was to seek an outcome that we could all live with. Unfortunately, no Member expressed similar WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  concerns until at the very end of the second round, when we heard a delegation raise similar 
concerns.  Nonetheless, we are convinced and still believe th at the process was not properly handled at the 
initial stages. As a result, we reserved our right not to join the consensus, pending our final 
assessment.   
Let me reiterate here that the decision not to participate in the second round was not an easy one 
for Kenya. We hope that Members will see merit in re-looking at the rules and procedures in the future, at least to the extent that it can keep within the principles embedded in them.  
It has been a long process. It commenced in December 2012 with the nomination of candidates, 
followed through to the campaigns and three rounds of consultations. It has been labour-intensive, time-consuming and emotionally draining, and even a distraction to the Bali process. Needless to 
say, the resources involved have been considerable. 
 As a candidate country, Kenya empathizes with the candidates who travelled the longer journey to 
the second and final rounds. We applaud their dedication and commitment.  
 We are now almost six months down the road of this process and I know that we are all fatigued and want to see an outcome now so that we can dedicate the remaining - and considerably 
reduced - time to preparations for the forthcoming 9
th Ministerial Conference in Bali. 
 In the final round of your consultations, your task was relatively easier with only two candidates. 
We recognized during our consultations with you that the concerns, as outlined in our 
communication to the membership at the end of the first round, were no longer applicable.  The 
question you asked was simple, i.e., "what is your preference?" This question offered no 
opportunity for deviation from the agreed principles of the process such as negative preferences 
and ranking, just to cite a few examples. Keny a therefore acknowledges th at the outcome of the 
final round of your consultations reflects an accurate and fair view of the Members. Subsequently, Kenya would like to state that we join the consensus that the Brazilian candidate Amb. Roberto 
Azevêdo becomes the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization. 
 Kenya would like to take this opportunity to offer Amb. Roberto Azevêdo our heartfelt 
congratulations for his well-deserved victory. We look forward to working with him in delivering 
the mandate of this organization and, more immediately, some deliverables for the Bali Ministerial Conference in December this year. As for Mexico , we salute you for a well-fought campaign and 
wish you well.  
 Finally, allow me to congratulate you and your Facilitators. Amb. Jonathan Fried, Chair of DSB, and Amb. Joakim Reiter, Chair of TPRB, for delivering on this enormous task. 
 
15. Ghana   
Ghana associates itself with the statements made by Morocco on behalf of the African Group and 
Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group.  
Ghana wishes to take this opportunity to congratulate the Troika for the able manner in which they 
conducted affairs during the selection process.  Ghana remains a firm believer in the Multilateral Trading System (MTS) and would continue to 
support the ideals which the system stands for. It is in this spirit that Ghana nominated one of its 
illustrious sons in the name of Mr. Alan Kyeremat en, a former Minister of Trade and Industry, to 
contest for the post of WTO Director-General when the process for the selection began in 
December 2012. In nominating him, the Government of Ghana had no doubt at all that Mr 
Kyerematen’s extensive and distinguished record in international trade, politics and diplomacy would inure to the benefit of the WTO in this crucial time of its existence. Unfortunately, Ghana 
had to withdraw Mr Kyerematen’s candidature after the first round of consultations for, failing to 
obtain the required breadth of support.  Despite that, Ghana has continued to cooperate and support the work of the Troika by actively 
participating in the subsequent consultative processes. We believe that it is the support and WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  cooperation of all Members alike that has culminated in the Troika progressively executing this 
onerous assignment to a successful conclusion.   Ghana would, therefore, like to join the others who have taken the floor before us, in 
congratulating all the candidates who put themselves up for this contest. They have enriched the 
WTO in several ways. More importantly, Ghana would like to extend its sincere congratulations to Ambassador Carvalho de Azevêdo of Brazil for havi ng emerged as the Members’ choice after this 
exciting but difficult process. Ghana wishes to assure him that he would enjoy all the support that 
it has to offer. We stand ready to work with him in a very positive manner.  We sincerely believe that Ambassador Azevêdo appreciates very well the challenges of the WTO system and the specific 
difficulties of its Members. It is our hope and belief that he would make every effort in facilitating 
our work to the best of his ability. 
 As we head for Bali, the new Director-General can count on Ghana’s active support in all efforts to 
ensure that Bali delivers. 
 Ghana wishes to once again congratulate the Troika for the professional manner in which it 
conducted the selection process.  However, this delegation would wish to call for some reform of 
the selection process. Throughout the process, ther e were many times that the work of the Troika 
and the Secretariat itself became serious subjects of negative speculation. There were several times that one could sense and feel the tension, making a number of delegations uncomfortable 
with the process. 
 It is, therefore, our humble suggestion that, after the dust has settled, Members would have the 
opportunity to discuss the 2002 guidelines with a view to ensuring fairness and transparency in 
future selection processes.  
16. Jordan 
 Jordan fully associates itself with the statements made by Oman on behalf of the Arab Group, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Asian Group Developing Members and Chinese Taipei on 
behalf of RAMs Group.  
 I would like to start by thanking the Troika for their tireless efforts, which led us today to a 
decision by consensus on the appointment of the next Director-General. 
 Jordan welcomes the decision on the appoin tment of H.E Ambassador Roberto Carvalho de 
Azevêdo as the next Director-General of WTO.  
 We congratulate him, and we offer him our full support and cooperation. Mr Azevedo, your able leadership and extensive knowledge will help us in paving away challenges ahead of us, especially 
in our preparations to the Bali Ministerial Confer ence. We are confident that you are up to the 
confidence and trust of Members.   
We wish also here to pay attribute to all 8 candidates in the selection process and countries who 
nominated them. Moreover, I would like to convey  to Ambassador Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo 
the congratulations of the Jordanian Candidate H.E. Dr. Ahmad Hindawi who wishes him all the 
success.  
 17. Canada  
I guess my last thing to say having served in the Troika is to express my gratitude to you 
personally for your leadership and guidance through this process - a tribute that has been paid by other Members as well.  And to thank the membership who have spoken so far with great deal 
humility for their tributes paid to us as a team. 
 Let me speak back to a world that I look forward to returning to as a representative of Canada, 
and in this capacity to offer Canada's congratulations to Ambassador Azevêdo on his appointment 
as Director-General. I understand that Canada's participation in the selection process was guided by a merit-based assessment of the candidates, although for obvious reasons I was not previewed 
to the detail. Canada is very pleased that the membership has come to a consensus around a 
candidate who has the leadership skills necessary to advance negotiations in the lead up to the WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  Bali Ministerial and beyond, a proven ability to br oke or compromise and, as we have heard this 
morning, a stated commitment to strengthening the multilateral trading system and ensuring transparency in the decision-making process.  
Canada particularly welcomes Roberto's confirmation this morning to put these skills to work on 
behalf of the entire membership.  Canada offers him its full support from the Capital in the lead up to Bali and for the duration of his tenure with emphasis on combating protectionism and 
reestablishing the credibility of the WTO during this critical time in the organization's history and in 
our global economy, and here in Geneva. He can count on our support from the Canadian delegation and my own support in my capacity as Chair of the DSB to advance issues of interest to all WTO Members. 
 
Canada would also like to join you in recognizing the other eight candidates, all of whom had significant strengths, unique combinations and skill s, attributes and experiences that could have 
been brought to bear. Our merit-based approach in assessing the candidates identified minimal 
margins between them particularly as the rounds progressed.  However, there can only be one winner and the membership has chosen the candidate who shows enormous promise as leader of 
this house. 
 Finally, I would be remiss if I did not convey on behalf of Canada our recognition of the outstanding efforts of Mr Pascal Lamy over the last eight years. The sound functioning of the 
Dispute Settlement System, the strengthening, su rveillance and monitoring functions of the 
organization, the highly skilled and efficient Secret ariat are all testament to his strong leadership 
skills.  And he has certainly left no rock unturned in his efforts to advance the Doha negotiations. 
 
18. Russian Federation  
The Russian Delegation would like to extend its warmest congratulations to Ambassador Roberto 
Azevêdo on being selected by the WTO Members for the post of the WTO Director-General. Mr. Azevêdo has won the intensive race of 3 round of consultations and fully deserves today’s consensus throughout WTO membership for his a ppointment. Russia did support this consensus 
and we congratulate all of us about the next WTO four-year-long leader. 
 We know Mr. Azevêdo as a highly experienced pr ofessional, devoted to the core principles of 
multilateralism in trade and the main goals of the WTO with a high-profiled diplomatic and 
mediatory merits as well as personal characteristics. In this context, we regard his candidacy as the most suitable for the post of the WTO leader, taking into account the serious challenges we are 
f a c i n g  n o w  i n  t h i s  O r g a n i z a t i o n .  L e t  m e  a s s u r e  y o u ,  d e a r  f r i e n d  R o b e r t o ,  t h a t  R u s s i a  w i l l  w o r k  
together with you to find solutions to these problems.  Russia would also like to thank all other eight candidates for their participation in the selection 
process, during which they all demonstrated high competence in the WTO issues, strong 
commitment to the multilateral trade system, personal dignity, as well as respect to the procedural rules and result of the electoral consultations. 
 
Russia would like to address special regards to the esteemed Troika for their ability to conduct the process of consultations on the next WTO DG swiftly, clearly, transparently and fairly. We would 
like to thank them for their wise and independ ent mediation of this election campaign. This 
campaign became a good example of purely free choice of the WTO Members as well as a very 
timely manifestation of our capacity to work jointly and constructively towards consensus solutions of various complex issues. 
 
19. Togo (for the Ambassadors of the Econ omic and Monetary Union of West Africa) 
 
We would like to congratulate you as well as the other facilitators for the work that you have 
carried out and the work based on consensus which has led to the conclusion of this process.  Your task was not easy because of the guidelines and the complexity of the selection process on which 
your work was based. UEMOA would like to take the opportunity given by this extraordinary 
session of the General Council to extend its congratulations to Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo on his victory.  We would like to give our support to the recommendation by the Troika to appoint the Ambassador Azevêdo as the next Director-General of the WTO. 
 WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  We would like to wish him every success in his new job, recognizing that he has an arduous task in 
light of the impasse in the negotiations, but we do not doubt for one minute that, thanks to his extensive experience as a negotiator, the new Director-General will impose his mark so that negotiations can advance in the interest of all Members. 
 
The Group would like to commend the other candidates who, through their diversity and experience, have enriched the process leading to the election of Mr. Azevêdo. 
 
20. United States  I want to start by thanking you personally for the work you did as Chairman of the Troika along 
with your other colleagues, Ambassadors Fried and Reiter. We think you have done an outstanding 
job with a very difficult task and we are grateful for the time, effort and skill that you have put into this process. 
 
I want to emphasize three strengths that we have seen coming out of this process.  The points 
that I am making are not radical in anyway, in fact, we have heard them emphasized by others 
already, but I think it is very much worth emphasizing them. 
 The first strength we see coming out of this process is the one that you mentioned in the beginning, which is the strength of consensus. I think it is important for us to remind ourselves 
just what a big deal it is for all 159 Members of this Organization to come to consensus on 
anything, let alone to come to consensus on something big.  The decision of who we all select to be the leader of this Organization is something very big, so it is a very good sign that we are able 
to do this. 
 I know there were fears when we started this process six months ago that this could be a big 
distraction from the other work of the institution. In fact, it has been just the opposite. I think it 
has been a very hopeful sign that we actually have the ability to do big things and now I think our challenge - and Roberto's challenge - will be building on this momentum in a very positive way.  
The second strength we see coming out of this process is the strength of the membership. We 
began this with nine extremely strong candidates, as has been emphasized by others today, from every corner of the globe. I think it is noteworthy that all nine of the candidates have enhanced 
their reputations by participating in this process and that is a very strong endorsement of all of 
them. At every round in this process, each of us fa ced a difficult decision - difficult in a good way, 
as we had lots of good choices and that is a real credit to every Member of this institution. 
 
And now I think we need to remind ourselves of the skill that resides in this room.  I know that all of us came here wanting to work on and contribute towards achieving important things and we can do that. I think this process demonstrates that, and now the challenge is for all of us to put our 
shoulder to the wheel. 
 The final strength that has been underscored throughout this process, is in many ways the most 
obvious one, which is the strength of Roberto as  a candidate. I remember when I first got here 
about three years ago, I had a couple of meetings with Roberto and it was immediately obvious to me that the talent that he brought to his job as Ambassador of Brazil.  
 
All of us in this room have worked with you very closely, we know you extremely well, we have seen you as a very strong advocate for your count ry, but we have also seen you many times as a 
consensus-builder. And clearly the phase that we are at in our institution today is with that we 
need a consensus builder as we move towards what we have all acknowledge is a very critical 
stage in the history of this institution.  We know you will be challenged immediately but you should also know that your colleagues in this room and your friends and are very ready, willing and able 
to work with you to achieve big things for the institution.  Congratulations. 
 21. Argentina 
 
It is of great satisfaction to my delegation to  welcome the appointment of Ambassador Azevêdo as 
the new Director-General of the WTO. It is also a source of pride that he is a candidate from our 
region and, especially for Argentina, that he is a candidate from Brazil that has been for the last 30 
years our main trading and political partner.  We support him fully in this role and we know that WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  his work in this Organization will lead to a fairer and more inclusive multilateral trading system.  
The fact that there were two Latin Americans in the final round of this selection process is a clear signal of the involvement of Latin America in world trade and reflects the vocation of our region and our countries, which are evident in our political plans, but concretely in the fact that our 
region contributes to the construction of world economy based on consensus. We would  also like 
to thank the candidate from Mexico, Herminio Blanco as well as the other candidates who participated in this selection process. 
 
We would also like to thank you and Ambassadors Fried and Reiter for the work you have carried out to ensure that this process led to a success based on the criteria of transparency.  We know that it was sensitive but it ended successfully. We would not like to miss the opportunity to 
mention the work of the Director-General, Pascal Lamy, his commitment to multilateralism and his 
efforts in this organization and he certainly has the support and friendship of our delegation.  
These are times of great challenge for the multilater al trading system and it certainly will not be 
easy for the new Director-General but we think it is these challenges which make the path more interesting.  It is with enthusiasm that we will support Roberto in his new task and we wish him 
every success. 
 22. Turkey  
I would like to join my colleagues in congratulating Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo of Brazil for his 
election as the next Director-General of the WTO.  I wish him good luck and all success in his new 
and challenging task at the top of this organization. I trust that Roberto will be able to be a bridge-
builder among the Membership in a very demanding conjuncture and an excellent leader and 
manager for the Secretariat. Fortunately, or unfortunately I should say, Ambassador Azevêdo has not missed much during his campaign over the past few months because our negotiations have 
continued at a snail pace and it will not be difficult for Roberto to catch up with the process. We 
look forward to working with him towards a successful Ministerial in Bali as a matter of priority.  Let me also extend my thanks and appreciati on to the Troika. Ambassador Bashir, Ambassador 
Fried and Ambassador Reiter have selflessly steered this lengthy and testing process, and 
managed to successfully conclude it wi th the guidance of the Members.  
 
Finally, I wish to reiterate our appreciation to all candidates and the Members who have nominated 
them. The candidacy of such distinguished personalities for this job has reaffirmed the importance of our organization and I wish them all the best in their future endeavours.  
 
23. European Union (also for Croatia)  Mr Chairman, this is a very good day for our organisation. I want first to congratulate all the 
Members of the WTO for the excellent result achieved and also for the very good process that led 
us to this result. I wish also to pay tribute to all 9 candidates whose qualities were widely recognised and appreciated. I also want to join others and congratulate the new DG, Ambassador 
Azevêdo on behalf of the EU and all its member States. Croatia also associates itself with our 
statement. I want to congratulate him for his excellent campaign, for his ability to attract impressively wide support from all categories of  Members, from all regions, during the whole 
selection process, and in fact for his ability to build a real and profound consensus in the 
organization which is a great asset for the future well beyond this selection result.  Like all other Members who spoke, Mr Chairman, we are deeply grateful to you and to the 
facilitators in the Troika, Ambassador Jonathan Fried and Ambassador Joakim Reiter. You provided 
strong, transparent and inclusive leadership within an overall smooth selection process that allowed us to nominate the most supported candidate in the shortest possible time. The Troika was 
solidly and actively supported during this pr ocess by the vast majority of Members who 
demonstrated a deep commitment to the WTO and to  the Multilateral Trading System, well beyond 
any other short term consideration or emotion. The Troika guided us to a successful consensus and 
we are certainly grateful for that. 
 In all phases of the process, the EU has been  committed and resolved to make a constructive 
contribution to the building of consensus. We we re guided by a deep sense of consciousness and WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  responsibility to protect and strengthen the Multilateral Trading System and to reach at the end 
unanimity around the best and the most widely supported candidate. Thus, we are naturally very pleased with both the process and the outcome. To  conclude, Mr Chairman, all of us in the room 
know very well how deeply Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo is committed to the objectives of this 
organisation. We also know very well his abilities to lead and help build consensus. He will be 
taking up his duties at a moment we all recognis e as crucial for the future of the DDA, the WTO 
and the Multilateral System. At the same time, he will take over from Pascal Lamy - who provided 
outstanding services to the organisation during a very difficult period - at a moment which is also 
a moment of hope. There is certainly an unp recedented recognition among members of the 
importance of Bali and a widespread and sincer e willingness to deliver a "Bali package" and to 
continue with the DDA after Bali. The new DG will have to guide the organisation through these 
challenges and beyond. Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo is uniquely qualified for those tasks and he 
can count on the deep commitment and support of the EU and all its Member States.  
24. Qatar 
 I would like to associate myself also to the statements made by the Chair of the Asian Group and 
the Arab Group. 
 I would like to begin by joining others and extend my sincere congratulations to Mr Roberto de Azevêdo upon his appointment as next WTO Director-General. With his extensive experience and 
unique skills, we are convinced that Mr. Azevêdo will help all WTO Members to put the DDA back 
on track and lead the WTO at this defining moment.  
In this regard, I am pleased to assure Mr. Azevêd o of my delegation's full support and cooperation 
as he discharges his very important responsibilities in September.  
I would also like to pay tribute to all candidates in this process. Their vast experiences and 
excellent qualifications are greatly valued and respected.  Allow me also to express my admiration for the manner in which Mr. Lamy has steered the 
organization during his two consecutive terms as WTO DG. 
 Finally, I have the pleasure to express my delegation satisfaction and admiration for the manner in 
which you, Mr Chairman, together with Disput e Settlement Body Chair and Trade Policy Review 
Body Chair have conducted the consultations concerning the selection of the next Director-General. 
 
25. Mozambique  My delegation wishes to fully subscribe to th e statement made by H. E. the Ambassador of 
Morocco on behalf of the African Group. 
 I am taking the floor in order to convey, on behalf of my Government our sincere thanks to you, 
Mr Chairman, and to the two facilitators to the Troika, Ambassador Joakim Reiter of Sweden and 
Ambassador Jonathan Fried of Canada, and your distinguished team, for the excellent manner in which you conducted the process of the selection of the new Director-General of the WTO. Right 
from the beginning, Mozambique was among those wh o believed that you, and your colleagues in 
the Troika, were conducting the process with complete neutrality, impartiality and integrity. Thank you for the job well done!  
I should like to seize this opportunity to express my country’s heartfelt congratulations to 
Ambassador Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo for his successful bid to the post of Director-General of the WTO. We believe that this is a well-deserved selection for Ambassador Azevêdo, a 
distinguished and highly regarded Brazilian dipl omat, whose professional skills and acumen in 
matters related to world trade are well-known to all of us. His outstanding diplomatic skills and vast experience, born out of years of devotion to  the work of the WTO, in representation of his 
country, Brazil, allowed him from the start to be a better suited candidate to take up the 
succession in this internationally acclaimed organization.  We are mindful of the fact that it will not be an easy task. Important and difficult challenges await 
us, including the Bali Ministerial Conference. Ho wever, we are confident that Ambassador Azevêdo WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  will be up to the task. We want to assure him that he may count on the support of Mozambique 
and, indeed, on the support of all of us in this  Organization. We are of the view that Ambassador 
Azevêdo made history. He is the first Director-General of the WTO from Latin America, and the first citizen from the Community of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), of which 
Mozambique is the current President, to hold such a noble and highly regarded post. But it is 
mainly thanks to his qualities and the weight and prestige of his country Brazil that he succeeded. I wish him the very best of success in his new and noble functions. 
 
May I also express a word of appreciation and praise to the nine candidates to the post and in particular to Dr Hermínio Blanco, the distinguished candidate from Mexico. From his long and highly successful career, we know that he was an excellent candidate who, over the years, has 
served his country and the world trade community with a high degree of competence and 
distinction. We have no doubt the he was one of the best candidates for the post. We express our gratitude to Mexico for its readiness to serve the Organization. Most importantly, we thank the 
Government of Mexico and Dr. Hermínio Blanco for gracefully accepting the results of this 
competition. No doubt, we shall count on Mexico’s contribution for advancing the WTO agenda in the years to come.  
 
To Mr Pascal Lamy, Director General of WTO, we would like to express our gratitude for the long 
years of service and dedication to the cause of  free trade. His sense of justice and fairness, 
professionalism, openness, skilfulness, and his hard working traits will leave an indelible legacy 
that will be remembered in the WTO by many of us and will well serve as a source of inspiration in 
the hard times ahead of us. He will be remembered dearly by all of us.  
26. Uruguay 
 Following intense days culminating in the appointment of the new Director General, Roberto 
Carvalho de Azevêdo, we should like to pay tribute to the eight nominees who were not selected. 
We wish to thank them and express our appreciati on of the interest that they have shown in 
running the Organization to which we belong and of which much more is expected in order to continue progressing towards trade as a tool for the development of all nations. 
 
As a Latin American country, Uruguay is proud that the final decision was between two excellent contenders from our region. I therefore wish to take advantage of this opportunity to convey 
special greetings to the Mexican candidate, Mr Herminio Blanco. 
 With regard to the Director-General elect, Ambassa dor Azevêdo of Brazil, on behalf of my country 
I should like to convey to him my most sincere congratulations on his appointment to such a 
distinguished position.  Uruguay and Brazil share the same vision of the WTO as a fundamental institution of the 
multilateral trading system. Our countries have worked together, and will continue to do so, during 
the Doha Round on the basis of the same objectives , including the pursuit of the agricultural trade 
liberalization process, which is a crucial issue for Uruguay. 
 
At a time when the new Director General's role is to be neutral, we are convinced that Ambassador Azevêdo's wealth of experience, political sensitivity and well known consensus building skills will 
prove to be qualities that will guide him to a safe harbour in the troubled waters through which the 
WTO is sailing. The first major challenge facing him once he has taken up his position will be the Bali Ministerial Conference.  
Uruguay hereby expresses its full support for the Director General elect and will continue to work 
in conjunction with the other Members on the changes that need to be made to the multilateral trading system to ensure that it is based on rules which are predictable, transparent, balanced and 
conducive to the development of all Members. 
 27. China 
 
I would like to join others in expressing our heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Azevêdo for his 
success of being selected as next Director-General. We acknowledge that Mr. Azevêdo has abundant experiences and proficient knowledge of multilateral trade affairs, and has played an 
active role in pushing forward the Doha Round and preserving the development objective during WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  his tenure as the Brazilian Ambassador to the WTO. We have full confidence that he could lead us 
to achieve the early harvest agreement at the MC9 this December and to further negotiations afterwards for the full conclusion of the Round. As always, China will support the work of the Director-General and continue to play a constructive role in the multilateral trading system. 
 
I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all other eight candidates. Their participation and the dignity they have demonstrated during the whole process are greatly valued 
and respected by all Members. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors. 
 Last but not least, I wish to express our sincere appreciation to the Troika, you as the Chairman, and Ambassador Fried and Ambassador Reiter as facilitators. Your diligence and impartiality made 
this challenging selection process a smooth and efficient one.  
 28. Plurinational State of Bolivia 
 
We have closely followed the process for the appointment of the next Director-General of the Organization. The highly qualified candidates, to whom we should like to pay tribute, were mainly 
from countries of the South and it was a pleasant surprise indeed to discover that the two final 
candidates were from the Latin American region.  We wish to share our view that the final outcome demonstrates that when we developing countries 
act in concert we can make a difference and achieve positive results. I hope that this is only the 
first in a series of occasions in which we join forces in order to produce results that benefit the majority. 
 
Another conclusion to be drawn from this appointment process is that merely forging closer ties with developed countries no longer suffices to ensure success in the multilateral system. This is a 
reflection that the ever changing world in which we live is (we hope) edging closer to becoming 
multipolar.  It is in this context that we welcome the appointment of Brazilian Ambassador Roberto Carvalho 
de Azevêdo as WTO Director-General-elect. In additi on to his widely recognized personal skills, in 
Bolivia's opinion he is also a representative of the above mentioned changes that are currently under way and, in particular, the urgent requirement to address the needs of the majority of the 
world's population, not merely those of minorities who do not necessarily have to retain certain of 
the exemptions and privileges that they have enjoyed to date.  
Finally, we wish to thank and pay tribute to the Ambassadors who made up the Troika which 
achieved this outcome and to our current Director General for all his work. 
 
29. Japan 
 
I would like to congratulate Roberto on behalf of the Government of Japan. I am sure that you are ready for this post and I am sure that you will be an excellent Director-General in strengthening 
the multilateral trading system even more, in working with all of us, rising to a number of 
challenges. Since last week, Roberto, you have beco me one of the best known Brazilians in Japan.  
Japan welcomes the opportunity to work closely with you. 
 
I would also like to thank the three ambassadors fr om the Troika for having steered this process.  
It was a very delicate and complex process and I think they did a very effective job.  
To conclude, I would like congratulate Amb. Maria Azevêdo; she has supported Roberto very well 
over the last few months.    
30. South Africa 
 Today we celebrate a triple victory: it is a victory for the principle of diversity; it is also a victory 
for the principle of consensus; and it is a victory for the principle of multilateralism. 
 We have argued consistently throughout this selection process that the WTO should ensure that its leadership reflects the diversity of its membership - now 159 - representing all regions of the 
world. Today we succeeded in ensuring that Latin America is represented in the leadership of the WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  WTO for the first time. Africa has yet to be represented and in the fullness of time it will soon be 
Africa's tum to provide the richness of its leadership to this institution. We salute those African candidates who made themselves available towards this responsibility.  
Today is also a victory for the principle of consensus. This is one of the few principles that was to 
survive the collapse of the ITO and the Havana Charter. The GATT and now the WTO wisely decided to adopt this principle instead of the majority voting and weighted voting approaches of 
other multilateral institutions. It is a principle that we should cherish and build on. In a world as 
diverse and complex as is represented here today, no one person or group can have a monopoly of the truth. Adherence to the principle of consensus w ill ensure that we all strive to engage with one 
another and build a dialogic truth to unlock the many challenges this institution has to solve.  
 
Third, it is a great day for the principle of multilateralism - not the multilateralism of the few that seek to impose their will on the rest - but the multilateralism that builds on the principles of 
fairness, balanced rules, inclusiveness and recognition of the development concerns of the 
majority of Members.   
Brazil has played an active role in the creation of the ITO and Havana Charter and in all eight 
rounds of the GATT and now in the Doha Round.  It is incredible that more than 60 years later that a Brazilian and Latin American is to lead this organization. I have every confidence that Roberto Azevêdo will stand tall when his leadership is test ed against the call of history. His success will be 
measured not just by his commitment and insight into the needs and interests of developing 
countries but also by his ability to serve the entire membership by building consensus through dialogue and engagement recognizing the concer ns of all - large and small, developed and 
developing, rich and poor.  
 We salute all of you for arriving at this decision by consensus. We thank the Troika - the wisdom of 
the Chair - Amb. Shahid Bashir - and his two wise  councillors, Amb. Reiter and Amb. Fried. Above 
all we should salute all those candidates that stood up to the call of duty and worked hard to convince us that you too could serve this institution.   
31. Guatemala 
 I would first like to express Guatemala's support  for the statement made by Ambassador Matus on 
behalf of GRULAC.  The Government of Guatemala congratulates Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo on 
his appointment as Director General. His experien ce of trade matters, his grasp of detail and his 
proven track record in institutional management ensure that he will be an excellent Director-
General. We look forward to working closely with him in the future. 
 We believe that the first challenge faced by the new Director-General will be to ensure that the Doha Development Agenda negotiations are concluded successfully and that we are well positioned 
t o  d e f i n e  t h e  i s s u e s  t h a t  w e  c a n  a g r e e  o n  s o  a s  t o  c o n t i n u e  m o v i n g  f o r w a r d  a f t e r  o u r  n e x t  
Ministerial Conference in Bali in December. Achieving solid results in the July General Council meeting will give the recently appointed Director-General an excellent platform from which to 
launch the final stage of Ministerial preparations. 
 Today's General Council decision ends a five month process in which nine excellent candidates 
were put forward by their respective governments. In  this respect, we particularly congratulate the 
Mexican candidate Dr. Herminio Blanco on his participation in the selection process.  After intensive consultations, you Mr Chairman, and your two facilitators, Ambassador Jonathan 
Fried and Ambassador Joakim Reiter, who we congratulate on their work, met with all WTO 
delegations to learn their preferences. This procedure was in keeping with the guidelines agreed by the General Council in December 2002. 
 
This process has proved that WTO Members can wo rk together and take difficult decisions by 
consensus. We believe that our reaching agreement in this manner bodes well for us, particularly 
as we seek to advance the Doha negotiations and to prepare for our Ninth Ministerial Conference. 
 We were extremely fortunate to have had such excellent candidates for this important position. They conducted themselves with dignity and integrity. We would also like to congratulate and WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  thank the WTO Member governments for adhering so unfailingly to the guidelines for the selection 
of the Director General and for ensuring that the process ran smoothly.  Once again, we congratulate Roberto Azevêdo on  his appointment and wish him every success in 
his work as the future Director-General of the WTO. 
 32. Hong Kong, China  
 
We would like to express our sincere apprecia tion to you, Ambassador Fried and Ambassador 
Reiter on the exemplary way that you have conducted the process in full accordance with the guidelines and with full integrity, which has allowed us to arrive at this very successful conclusion. 
 
I would also like to thank all eight other candidates for their participation in the process and the dignified way that they have conducted themselves, particularly Mr Blanco and Mexico for the 
gracious way they have acknowledge and embraced the final result. 
 Of course Hong Kong, China would warmly like to congratulate Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo on 
his appointment as Director-General.  We look forward to working closely with him and offer him 
our full support in the difficult road ahead.  33. Egypt 
 
At the outset I would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the Troika, Ambassador Bashir, Ambassador Fried and Ambassador Reiter, who had led the process of selecting the new 
DG with great efficiency and with full commitment to transparency, inclusiveness and full 
participation. I wish also to pay tribute to the outstanding candidates from Ghana, Costa Rica, Indonesia, New Zealand, Kenya, Jordan, Mexico an d Korea who participated in the process for the 
relentless commitment to multilateralism which they all had the opportunity to demonstrate 
dedication and responsibility that surrounds their re spective candidacy. Indeed, they were all very 
highly qualified and well experienced.  
At the same time, I would like to express our satisfaction with the decision just taken of appointing 
H.E. Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo as the next the Director-General.  Egypt fully supports this decision and is ready to work with Ambassador Az evêdo very closely and constructively.  We are 
fully convinced that his mandate will represent a powerful chance for developing countries to 
realize their much deserved desire for deeper integration into the multilateral trading system.  We also are confident that he could help bring divergence between developed and developing 
economies and lead the membership to a successful conclusion of the Doha Round. 
 Before concluding, I would like to highlight the positive and constructive spirit that arises from the Members all over the selection process. I am sure  that if the same spirit prevails during our 
preparatory work towards the next Ministerial meeting in Bali, we could reach very soon a fair and 
balanced package that can benefit all WTO Members.  
34. El Salvador  
 We would like to congratulate and thank the members of the Troika for having handled this 
process in a very professional and efficient way which has shown that this house has fully once 
again respected the principle of consensus which we have seen again today.  While we will have further opportunities to pay tribute to the current Director-General, I did not 
want to pass up this opportunity to say to Mr Pascal Lamy, to his Deputies and Chief of Cabinet, as 
well as the other members of the Secretariat, that we are very grateful for his work in steering this ship in such choppy waters and in going as far as we the passengers have allowed them to go.  
Pascal Lamy can continue to count on our support in the remaining 45 days to move towards 
building a Bali consensus. We know that time is slipping away from us.  
We would like to warmly congratulate the new Director-General who will take up the post on 
1 September 2013, Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo, and wish him every best of success.  We thank Roberto for having taken on this challenge. We know it is an important task and we know it is going to have a number of tricky challenges. We would also like to congratulate the other excellent 
eight candidates who came forward.  We pay tribute to their efforts and those of their WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  governments and Permanent Representatives here, who allowed their candidates to work so 
intensively in this process.  Unfortunately, only one can be a winner.  35. Cuba 
 
Mr Chairman, may I first of all congratulate you and the Canadian and Swedish Ambassadors for y o u r  w o r k  a s  p a r t  o f  t h e  T r o i k a  d u r i n g  t h i s  c o m p l e x  p r o c e s s  t o  s e l e c t  t h e  n e w  W T O  D i r e c t o r  
General from among nine first rate candidates. 
 Today we are proud to welcome as the new Dire ctor-General of this Organization Ambassador 
Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo, who, in addition to being a candidate from the South, is a true 
representative of the Latin American and Caribbean  region and an excellent diplomat who boasts a 
wealth of experience and is fully conversant with WTO issues.  
We are fully confident that Ambassador Azevêdo w ill be able to use his experience and highly 
refined negotiation skills to chart the course of the WTO forward, on the basis of the pending negotiating mandates and with a view to delivering on the Doha Development Agenda, which lies 
at the heart of all future work. 
 Mr Chairman, on behalf of the Cuban government an d people, I should once again like to pledge to 
Ambassador Azevêdo our strongest support and full willingness to make a positive contribution, 
under his leadership, to the future work of this Organization, which we reiterate must be geared 
towards the promotion and achievement of a fair, equitable, non-discriminatory and development-oriented multilateral trading system. 
 
We wish Ambassador Azevêdo every success in this worthy pursuit.  
36. Honduras  
 I want to begin by thanking all of the candidates who took part in this process.  Irrespective of where they come from, their qualities, both pe rsonal and professional, they all made a great 
contribution to the process and to impr oving the image of this Organization. 
 Honduras would also like to warmly welcome the new Director-General designate and we are very 
proud that someone from the Latin American region has been elected to take on such an important 
challenge.  Roberto, a colleague and friend, is well known in the multilateral trading system.  Over the past 15 years, I have had the honour of working with him and Maria on a number of very 
important issues for my country.  And today, I would like to wish him every success in this new 
stage in his life.  He has become a citizen of the world as the new Director General elect.  We also would like to wish Roberto success and Honduras will fully support you in your new task.  
I would like to finish by thanking you, Mr Chai rman, and the other members of the Troika for your 
work.  I would also like to thank the current Director-General for all of his efforts.  
37. Angola  
 My delegation endorses the statements made by  His Excellency the Ambassador of Morocco on 
behalf of the African Group, Nepal on behalf of the LDCs, and Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group. 
 I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the Troika for having conducted the WTO Director General selection process in a wise, transparent and impartial manner. The delegation of 
the Republic of Angola welcomes the level of responsibility that you have succeeded in assuming 
with dedication and zeal throughout this selection process.  
We would also like to congratulate all the candidates who have participated in this exercise on the 
personal commitment they have shown. The number of candidates, from a wide range of regions and countries, and their level of competence prov e the attachment that we all have to the WTO 
and its importance in multilateral trading system governance. 
 The Republic of Angola reiterates the importance of a multilateral trading system based on the rules agreed by its Members. We believe that trade's role in economic development will only be WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  effective if, inter alia, non-tariff or unjustified barriers and other measures that distort trade are 
eliminated or restricted.  The delegation of the Republic of Angola warmly and fraternally congratulates Ambassador 
Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo on his appointment as WTO Director General. We trust that the 
consensus reached during this process will also be reflected during his tenure.  
The challenges of the multilateral trading system are considerable and we hope that the new 
Director General will be able to provide a new dynamic enabling Members to, inter alia:  1.  obtain a negotiated and satisfying result  for the next Ministerial Conference in Bali; 
2. prepare the post Bali agenda, including all outstanding Doha Development Agenda 
issues; 
3. reconcile the interests of developed countries with those of developing countries 
without forgetting the most vulnerable Members; and 
4. finally achieve a balance in agriculture, market access, services and development 
issues. 
 
All of these objectives can only be met with the participation and support of the entire WTO Membership in a transparent and inclusive process.  
As for Angola, we reaffirm our commitment to the multilateral trading system and, in particular, to 
the conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda.  
Lastly, we commend Mr Pascal Lamy, the outg oing WTO Director General, on the work 
accomplished and his tireless commitment to the multilateral trading system. We hope that trade related technical assistance and capacity building measures, in particular Aid for Trade and the 
Enhanced Integrated Framework - two initiatives supported by Mr Pascal Lamy - will not only be 
maintained but reinforced during the tenure of the new Director General.  38. Bangladesh 
 
Let me associate with the statement made by Nepal on behalf of the LDC Group and Saudi Arabia on behalf of Asian Group in congratulating Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo on his appointment of 
next Director-General. 
 At the same time, I would like to express my deep appreciation for all the other highly talented 
candidates, whose participation made the process ably and eloquently demonstrate the strength 
and importance of multilateral trading system embodied in the WTO.  The role that the Troika played under your able leadership is highly commendable. 
 
Now we have a new DG, Ambassado r Roberto Azevêdo, and through you Mr. Chair, I would like to 
say "Roberto we believe in you, we  have our fullest conviction in you and you know the road is not 
very smooth but you can always count on us". 
 We recognize the presence of another illustrious  diplomat of Brazil, Ambassador Maria Azevêdo 
beside Roberto today in this Council.  We found he r equally active and an ever optimist during the 
campaign of Roberto.  Immediately after the election result, I told Roberto she should get 50% credit of his victory.  Roberto very gracefully replied that it was more than 50%. Roberto, as next DG I am sure you will benefit from the wisdom of your spouse.  I am sure we will have other 
formal occasion to speak on Pascal.  Roberto, we wish you good luck and success. 
 39. Gabon  
 
I would like to begin by thanking you and the facilitators in the Troika for the work you have carried out in the process of appointing the Director-General of the WTO. 
 
As you know, the strength of any organization in society depends on the quality of the rules and procedures that regulate it.  WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  My delegation would like to commend the successful outcome of the process to select our Director-
General, which further enhances the credibility and level of trust placed in the WTO by the entire international community.  
As the presiding member of CEMAC, Gabon welcomes the appointment as Director General of the 
Brazilian Ambassador to the WTO, H.E. Mr Roberto Azevêdo. Gabon would like to highlight that Ambassador Azevêdo's appointment to this position is a reflection of the high regard in which he is 
held and of his strong human qualities and extensive knowledge of trade negotiations. 
 Mr Director-General, you have been appointed at a critical stage in the multilateral trade negotiations taking place under the auspices of th e WTO, given the difficult international economic 
climate marked by the globalization of challe nges and the resurgence of protectionism. 
 Gabon is convinced that your expert ise, insight and vast knowledge of  the field are assets that will 
help WTO Members to advance and conclude the Doha Round of negotiations, while strengthening 
and enhancing the role of the multilateral trading system and of the WTO in particular, in order to overcome today's challenges and spur a global economic recovery. 
 
Gabon welcomes Brazil's victory and is pleased that, for the first time, the WTO will be headed by a Latin American country with which Gabon has very close links and is developing a series of partnerships in several areas. 
 
Gabon will work together with the rest of the Membership in order to achieve our organization's noble objectives. My delegation assures you of its readiness to assist you throughout your term of 
office. 
 I wish to end by paying a well-deserved tribute to Mr Pascal Lamy, the outgoing Director-General, 
for the work he accomplished during his eight year mandate at the helm of the WTO. 
 40. India  
On behalf of my delegation, let me express our gratitude to you and members of the Troika, 
Ambassador Fried and Ambassador Reiter, for facilitating the process of selecting a new Director-General of the WTO. Consulting 159 Members over three rounds, and helping to build a 
consensus around a single candidate from a distinguished and highly qualified slate of nine 
candidates was, by no means, an easy task. We applaud you for steering this process in a smooth, 
efficient and timely manner. We would also like to thank the Members who nominated candidates, 
for their valuable contribution to this exercise. 
 The outcome is a landmark in the history of the WTO and we as Members must take pride in demonstrating our resolve to be a part of this historic process. We believe that it is a tremendous 
effort by the Members of this organization, underlin ing the strength of this system to allow a fair 
and equal voice for all.   
India extends its warm and heartfelt congratulati ons to Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo for emerging 
as the consensus candidate to take over the reins of the WTO later this year. We are aware that Ambassador Azevêdo will come in as the Director-General at a difficult time, with many challenges 
confronting him, starting with the Bali Ministerial later this year. At this critical juncture, we need a 
Director General with a close and personal insight into the DDA negotiations and the concerns of different Members. We believe that Ambassador Azevêdo possesses the necessary experience and skills to lead this organization. Having worked with him, we are confident about his ability to act as 
a bridge builder and an honest broker who can he lp build trust and confidence among Members.  
 We take this opportunity to wish Ambassador Azevêdo every success in his new and challenging 
assignment and assure him of India’s full support  and cooperation in the work that lies ahead of 
us.  
41. Solomon Islands  
 Solomon Islands associates itself with the statements made by Nepal on behalf of the LDCs and Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group. My delegation would like to take this opportunity to 
acknowledge with appreciation the professional manner with which you and your two facilitators WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  Amb. Fried and Amb. Reiter have professionally managed and conducted the election process of 
the new DG of the WTO. We all know the process was very demanding and at times sensitive but you have maintained and uphold the requirement of the election process of the WTO and have delivered an excellent job. You and the Troika deserve our congratulations and commendation. 
 
My delegation would like to thank the other eight candidates who have offered their candidacy for the DG position and their respective countries for their time and efforts in the election process. I 
join other Members in thanking them most sincerely for their participation and professionalism in 
the entire process.    Last but not least, I would like to extend my country’s warmest congratulations to Ambassador 
Roberto on his successful election and appointmen t as the next Director-General of the WTO. 
Solomon Islands looks forward to working closely with Roberto when he assumes his appointment on 1 September 2013. Solomon Islands believe in your leadership in addressing the challenges of 
the DDA negotiations, especially the development challenges of the Small Island States of the 
Pacific, in particular the LDCs and SVEs in integrating into the MTS as a means to achieving sustainable development through trade.   
 
42. Peru  Mr Chairman, I would like to thank you and the two Facilitators and Troika members, Ambassadors 
Fried and Reiter, for bringing this appointment process to a successful conclusion. 
 The Government of Peru congratulates Ambassador Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo on his 
appointment as the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization and the Government of 
Brazil on his nomination as a candidate. We are confident that, given his leadership qualities, in depth knowledge of this organization and wealth  of experience, Ambassador Azevêdo will do an 
excellent job in leading the WTO in what is a particularly complex and challenging period. We 
therefore wish to state our full intention to work with him and contribute to the success of his mission.  
My Government welcomes the outcome of this appointment process   an intense exercise involving 
nine first rate and exceptionally qualified nominees and two final round candidates from fellow countries Brazil and Mexico   in particular because, for the first time ever, a representative of Latin 
America will take over the reins of the WTO. 
 I should once again like to highlight my Government's commitment to the strengthening of the 
World Trade Organization and to the international trade reform process that is currently under way 
within the WTO, processes that will now come under the leadership of Ambassador Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo. We once again wish Am bassador Azevêdo every success in his endeavours, 
in particular in the immediate future with the preparations for the Bali Ministerial Conference in 
December and subsequently with the post Bali agenda. 
 Finally, I wish to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of Mr Pascal Lamy and his team who 
have run the Organization over the last eight years, a period in which the WTO has played a major 
role in the multilateral trading system and served as a bulwark against protectionism.  
43. Lesotho  
 The Lesotho delegation associates itself with the statements delivered by the coordinators of the 
LDC Group, the African Group and the ACP Group. 
 
At the outset, the Lesotho delegation commends th e Troika for the meticulous discharge of their 
mandate when overseeing the consultation process geared towards the appointment of the new 
Director-General of the WTO. 
 Lesotho further congratulates the Director-General designate, Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo, for 
his successful bid to take up office as the new Director-General of the WTO starting from 
1 September 2013.  We wish him every success as he ventures into what has become the most trying leadership responsibility owing to the long standing Doha development agenda before us today. 
 WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  Having been one of us, and still as I guess at this present moment, it goes without saying, at least 
of this delegation, that Ambassador Azevêdo will continue the legacy of giving a voice to small 
delegations in the decision-making processes of th e WTO and remain sensitive to their concerns.  
At this stage, let me assure Ambassador Azev êdo of Lesotho's delegation support in his new 
mandate as the DG of the WTO. 
 In closing, the Lesotho delegation wishes to pay tribute to his Excellency Pascal Lamy for his 
commendable efforts that have left no stone unturned with regard to where we are in the DDA 
negotiations today.    44. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  
 
We firstly wish to acknowledge the work carried out by the facilitators in the Troika to bring this complicated process to a successful conclusion. This was accomplished by fully complying with 
Member approved rules and adopting a constructi ve, dedicated and transparent approach at all 
times.  
We would also like to thank and commend all the candidates that took part in the process for their 
commitment and fulfilment of the agreed election cr iteria, especially the three candidates from our 
region, who, to our great satisfaction, proved what valuable assets they are to our continent.  
It is our pleasure to congratulate both Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo and the Brazilian Mission in 
Geneva for such a resounding success. We are familiar with and have witnessed Ambassador Azevêdo's skills, talent and ability to engage in constructive dialogue in recent years. 
 
We believe that these qualities will be extremely useful at a time when the multilateral trading environment is facing a major economic crisis with no discernible prospects of a rapid solution. We 
therefore openly express our commitment and su pport to Ambassador Azevêdo for his upcoming 
term of office, which we are confident will bolster fair trade, transparency and inclusiveness for all Members.  
It seems clear that Ambassador Azevêdo will face testing times at the head of the WTO. However, 
we are sure that, with everybody's support, we will be able to overcome the challenges lying ahead. We are extremely proud that Ambassador Azev êdo is the first Latin American to lead this 
Organization. 
 We are aware that the WTO's image has deteriorated progressively. We therefore stress the need 
for all Members to join efforts in promoting trade multilateralism as a vital space for negotiations 
and agreements that can provide the necessary bala nce in the highly complex field of trade, which 
is a key tool for the development of our countries.  
We would also like to pay tribute to Mr Pascal Lamy for his hard work, determination and 
persistence during his term at the WTO, which coincided with what has been recognized as the most severe economic and financial crisis in recent years. We wish him every success in his future 
plans. 
 45. Namibia  
 
Today marks a very important milestone in the history of the World Trade Organisation. As you know, since January of this year, Member States have been engaged in the process of selecting a 
Director-General (DG) who will lead the World Trade Organisation at such a crucial time. The Doha 
Development Round has been gridlocked for over a decade and the appointment of a new DG 
brings hope, a new impetus and confidence into the Negotiations.  
Namibia congratulates Amb. Roberto Azevêdo on his selection as the new DG of the WTO. Amb. 
Roberto has been a strong proponent of the conclusion of the Doha Development Round with a strong emphasis on delivering the development mandate of the Round. The selection of Amb. 
Roberto is therefore an indication that the international community is serious about shifting gears 
to address outstanding issues in the Doha Deve lopment Round in order to tackle global socio-
economic challenges.  WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  Amb. Roberto has the necessary credentials and sk ills to take the WTO forward and to work with 
Member States to achieve a successful negotiated outcome of the Bali Ministerial Conference.  Namibia would also like to congratulate, H.E. Mr. Herminio Blanco of Mexico, who together with 
Amb. Roberto received the most support from the Members. We wish him the very best in his 
future endeavours.  
The selection process has not been without its shortcomings, and Namibia believes that the 
process of choosing the next DG of WTO should be done through elections in order to ensure objectivity, transparency and predictability, because this is the process applied to many 
international Organizations. Equally, Namibia believes that the next DG of WTO should come from 
Africa, considering that Africa never produce a DG before. 
 46. Swaziland  
 
Swaziland associates itself with the statements made by Morocco on behalf of the African Group 
and by Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group. We wish to join other Members in congratulating 
Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo for his well-deserved elec tion to the position of Director-General of 
the WTO. He is not new to the Organization and has served his time as Ambassador with great distinction. As such, we believe that he is better placed to succeed Mr. Pascal Lamy and take the Organization to greater heights. More importantly, Swaziland firmly believes as a seasoned WTO 
negotiator for his country, Ambassador Azevêdo will work with the membership to bridge 
differences and foster compromise, so as to conclude the Doha Development Round of negotiations. Swaziland looks forward to workin g with and under the leadership of Ambassador 
Azevêdo. 
 My delegation would also like to pay tribute to the unceasing, tireless efforts made by Mr Lamy 
over the past 8 years. Failure to conclude the Round during his tenure has been in spite of his best 
efforts. It is unfortunate that Mr Lamy’s creativity, hard work and persistence have not fostered the desired result for the organization. Director-General, the WTO membership will certainly miss you and my delegation wishes you all success in your future endeavours. 
 
In conclusion, the Swaziland delegation pledge s its support to Ambassador Azevêdo and wishes 
him all the best in his new position. 
 
47. Nicaragua   
Nicaragua would like to congratulate you and the facilitators in the Troika for the hard work you 
have been doing to ensure transparency in the process of selecting the new Director-General of 
the WTO. My delegation also wishes to pay well deserved tribute to the other candidates, who all have a great deal of experience and outstanding careers in international trade, not to mention an 
extensive knowledge of the work of this Organization. 
 Nicaragua welcomes the participation of the three Latin American candidates, which bears witness 
to the importance that our region attaches to the multilateral trading system. My delegation would 
also like to congratulate and pay tribute to Dr Herminio Blanco, whose professional and technical skills made him an equally excellent candidate for the post of Director General of this organization. 
 
My country joins Ambassador Matus, who spoke on behalf of GRULAC, and Ambassador Williams 
from Barbados, who spoke on behalf of the small, vulnerable economies, in congratulating Ambassador Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo on his appointment as the new WTO Director-General. 
We wish him every success in his new position. Nicaragua assures him of its support in this task 
and is confident that Ambassador Azevêdo will use his wisdom to address the challenges awaiting 
us at the Ninth Ministerial Conference, including the issue of revival of the Doha Round, and to 
ensure that the development dimension remains at the very centre of the Round, in keeping with 
the principles of equity, in clusiveness and transparency. 
 
Nicaragua trusts that Ambassador Azevêdo's well-es tablished expertise and skills will, with the 
Members' support, serve to strengthen the multilateral trading system, particularly in guiding the WTO through this period of crisis.  WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  Nicaragua thanks Mr Pascal Lamy and his team for their tremendous efforts to maintain open and 
free trade during Mr Lamy's years at  the head of this Organization. 
 48. Bahrain  
 
I  a m  m a k i n g  t h i s  s t a t e m e n t  o n  b e h a l f  o f  t h e Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Group. The GCC 
would like to congratulate Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo and welcome his Excellency as the next 
Director-General of the World Trade Organization . The GCC Group is looking forward to working 
closely with Ambassador Azevêdo on issues of interest to the GCC region and to finding ways and means to move forward to Doha Round.   
We assure his Excellency of the GCC readiness and commitment to the Multilateral Trading System 
and WTO. And GCC stand ready to fully support him in his task as Director-General and wish him all the success. 
 
The GCC Group would also like to acknowledge the nine candidates to the DG position, especially the single Arab candidate Dr. Ahmad Al-Handawi, and thank them all for their contribution and 
participation in this Process.  
 Finally, the GCC Group would also like to take this opportunity to express our great gratitude and appreciation to the Director-General Mr Pascal Lamy, and thank him for his services to this august 
Organization.  
 49. Ecuador 
 
We would like to congratulate you, Mr Chairman, and the other members of the Troika for leading this difficult process to a successful end. 
 
We would also like to thank the other eight candidates whose presence enriched the process.  We recognize the work of Pascal Lamy and his team over the last eight years to the benefit of the 
organization. 
 Finally, we would like to congratulate the new Director-General of the organization, Ambassador 
Roberto Azevêdo as well as his team, headed by his campaign chief, wife and partner, who have 
worked hard during the past five months.  
My country, like the other Members, will be placing a lot of hope in the work of Mr Azevêdo at the 
head of this organization.  50. Papua New Guinea  
 
On behalf of my delegation, and taking this opportunity to also represent the sentiments of the Vanuatu delegation, I wish to associate ourselves with other Members in expressing our sincere 
congratulations to Mr Roberto Azevêdo on his elec tion as the Director-General of the WTO. We 
would also like to express our thanks to the nine candidates that have contested for this high level post. We were fortunate to meet each one of them, including Mr Azevêdo, during their individual 
consultations with Members at the bilateral and WT O group levels and we wish them well in their 
future endeavours.  My delegation, and also on behalf of the Vanuatu delegation , takes this opportunity to thank Mr 
Pascal Lamy for his commitment and invaluable contribution towards the Multilateral Trading 
System (MTS) in his capacity as the Director-General in the last eight years.  
Let me on this note express our gratitude to him for the support and commitment that he has 
accorded towards our two new WTO Members, Samo a and Vanuatu respectively, in ensuring that 
they concluded their WTO membership. 
 
Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu are strongly su pportive of the Mr Azevêdo’s election. We 
acknowledge his wealth of experience, knowledge and skills, which he will put into use in driving this organization’s key objectives and steering the on-going negotiations to the next level. We also WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  place our trust in him to continue addressing the systematic implementation issues faced by the 
developing and least-developed countries.   In conclusion, I join other Members in thanking you and the Troika team for your hard work in 
ensuring that the selection process was executed within the timeframe for Members to finally 
conclude the process of electing the new Director General, Mr Azevêdo, through consensus.   
Let me reaffirm Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu commi tments to work with Mr Azevêdo.  We also 
support the statements from the ACP, LDC and SVE Groups.  51. Pakistan 
 
Pakistan would like to put on record our appreciation for the hard work of Mr Pascal Lamy in steering this Organization and leaving it in ve ry professional hands and congratulations to 
Mr Azevêdo. We are looking forward to working under his leadership. 
 52. Rwanda 
 
Rwanda welcomes Ambassador Azevêdo as the new DG of this important organization. The outcome of the selection process reflects the choices of the membership.  Rwanda therefore 
commends the Troika for the work done, indeed a challenging one, but as we say in French "Tout 
est bien qui finit bien". We theref ore look forward to working closely with the next DG in particular 
on development dimension of the Doha Round. We do not have any doubt that his ability will allow bridging the gaps among the membership, particular ly in advancing the Doha Round starting from 
the Bali outcome. 
 As for Mr Pascal Lamy, not only has he worked tirelessly in advancing the multilateral trading 
system but also he took important initiatives, including the Aid-for-Trade initiative, which has got a 
high profile in international economic discourse. Furthermore, Mr Pascal Lamy has built a good relationship with many leaders over the world, including in the East African Community, and has managed to advocate for the importance of trade in development and poverty reduction which is 
very important. We believe that the new DG will continue on this path. 
 53. Ethiopia (Observer) 
 
The Ethiopian delegation congratulates His Excellency Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo for his election as the new Director-General of the WTO. Ethiopia associates itself with the statements 
made by Morocco on behalf of the African Group,  Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group and Nepal 
on behalf of the LDCs.  As a country in the accession process, Ethiopia would like to work in close collaboration with 
Ambassador Azevêdo. Ethiopia enjoyed a close collaboration with His Excellency Mr Pascal Lamy, 
the outgoing Director-General, for which the Ethiopian delegation is very thankful. Ethiopia will continue its active engagement with the new Director-General for its accession to the WTO. 
 
His Excellency the Permanent Representative of Et hiopia, who is on a mission outside of Geneva, 
in his capacity as Chairperson of the Board of the Enhanced Integrated Framework for the LDCs, 
would like to continue working closely with the new Director-General to further enhance the aid-
for-trade delivery of the EIF.  54. Iran (Observer) 
 
After commending the excellent job which has been done by you and other two distinguished facilitator, regarding the new DG selection process, I would like to join the previous speakers and 
associate myself to the statement of the Informal  Group of Developing Countries, to extend our 
sincere congratulations, upon Mr. Azevêdo selection as the new Director-General of the WTO.  
We are confident that through his wise and able leadership, Member states will be able to put the 
multilateral agenda back on the right negotiations track and strengthen the organization’s reputation as a fair and rule-based multilateral trading system.   WT/GC/M/144 
 
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  From a national perspective, we are also confident that because of his goodwill and reputation as a 
renowned bridge builder, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s accession process, in a fair and trade-
based framework, will be facilitated and accelera ted. We look forward to working with him and 
building on our existing professional relationship. 
 
Last but not the least, let me seize this opportunity to extend our appreciations to Mr. Lamy and his team for all worked which has been done and will be done regarding the Islamic Republic of 
Iran’s accession to WTO. 
 
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