JOB/GC/135  
 
28 July 2017  
(17-4150) Page: 1/2 
General Council   
 
REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL ON THE INFORMAL  
HEADS OF DELEGATION MEETING  
TUESDAY, 25  JULY 2017  
1.1.  Let's now move on to the informal Heads of Delegation meeting. Again, this is intended as a 
transparency exercise. So I will start with a brief overview of my  various meetings and 
consultation s, before opening the floor to Members . 
1.2.  Since the informal HoDs meeting on 8 M ay, I have visited a number of C apitals and met with 
a broad range of stakeholders including leaders, government officials and the private secto r.  
1.3.  I have attended a series of high -level meetings, namely: the 'One Belt One Road' Forum in 
Beijing; the APEC Trade Ministers' meeting in Hanoi; the OECD Ministerial meeting and the 
informal gathering of Ministers in Paris, which was organized by Austral ia and co -chaired by 
Minister Steven Ciobo and Minister Malcorra; and, finally, the G20 Leaders' summit in Hamburg 
earlier this month.  
1.4.  In terms of bilateral visits, I met with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, in Tokyo, and 
held meetings with a numb er high -level government officials and private sector representatives. I 
travelled to Washington  to meet with the new administration , including the new USTR Robert 
Lighthizer, the Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. In  
Brussels  I met with European Commission President Jean -Claude Juncker, and addressed the EU 
Parliamentary Committee on International Trade. And I visited Bucharest, where I met with 
Romania's President Klaus Iohannis, and other high -level government offic ials. 
1.5.  The Global Review of Aid for Trade here in Geneva was an opportunity to engage with a large 
number of Ministers from developing and least -developed Members  – as well as representatives of 
the private sector and other international organisations. It also provided the opportunity to meet 
with the new African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Albert Muchanga.  
1.6.  From the statements in the closing plenary, I think Members  agreed that it was a very 
successful event, with in -depth discussions taking p lace on a wide range of development and 
capacity -building issues.  
1.7.  Throughout  these various discussions – including over 25 bilateral meetings – I have sensed 
a continued high level of interest, engagement and support for the multilateral trading system.  
1.8.  Members  recognize the important role that the WTO plays in ensuring stability, transparency 
and predictability of the global trading system and therefore the need to further improve and 
strengthen it. This is especially positive given the continued uncerta inty in the global economy.  
1.9.  In addition, throughout these exchanges, I have heard consistent calls for a successful MC11.  
1.10.   The Ministerial C onference is clearly an important moment to demonstrate that the system 
works to support all countries' economic gro wth and development.  
1.11.   To deliver on this we need to ensure that our work is relevant to the challenges faced by the 
users of the trading system. And therefore I am pleased that interest from the private sector in the 
work of the WTO continues to be very hi gh. And that was very clear in the Aid for Trade Review. I JOB/GC/13 5 
 
- 2 - 
 
  also had a meeting there with representatives of the multilateral development banks from several 
regions where we had a conversation about trade finance. I was particularly concerned with the 
fact that in several developing countries the financial system is not strong enough, especially for 
small and medium enterprises. It would be useful if the multilateral development banks and others 
could be more engaged to help ensure that the appropriate finan cing is available. That's something 
that I will continue to pursue potentially during the Fall meetings of the World Bank and the IMF. I 
may continue this conversation at the margin of those meetings.  
1.12.   Let me also remind you all of the Public Forum which i s coming up in September, with the 
theme of 'Trade: Behind the Headlines'. This event will provide a valuable opportunity for 
participants to examine a range of topical issues, including looking at how we can ensure that the 
benefits of trade are spread wi der and understood better.   
1.13.   These issues were present in almost all of my exchanges with ministers – both bilaterally 
and in larger groups.  
1.14.   Interest in many different issues has been growing as demonstrated by the various events 
organized by Members . Rece ntly, I have been invited to attend a number of informal dialogues and 
workshops. These have included:  
 Yesterday's seminar, organized jointly by the Friends of Investment Facilitation for 
Development and the Friends of E -commerce for Development, on "Bridg ing the Digital 
Divide: Harnessing E -commerce and Investment Facilitation for Inclusive Trade and 
Development".  
 An Open -Ended Dialogue on the E -commerce Ecosystem organized by the Friends of E -
commerce for Development last Friday, 21 July.  
 A Workshop on I nvestment Facilitation for Development organized by the Friends of 
Investment Facilitation for Development held on 10 July.  
 And an Informal Dialogue on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises held on 29 June, 
organized by the Friends of MSMEs  
1.15.   As you know, the se issues also emerged as prominent themes during the Global Review of 
Aid for Trade.  
1.16.   Ultimately, it will be up to Members  to decide whether and how to conduct and advance 
those conversations.  
__________