WTO pact to boost South-South trade: Director General

World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Roberto Azevedo said Friday that the Bali Package will deliver on the development front by enhancing developing countries' ability to integrate into the world economy.

He was speaking at The Partnership Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in cooperation with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and the Government of Rajasthan in Jaipur from January 15-17, 2015.

This was Azevedo's first public address since the WTO turned twenty this year and he used the occasion to highlight India's contribution to the multilateral trading system.

On the trade facilitation agreement (TFA), he noted that the benefits will be visible to Indian industry, as competitiveness and exports will receive a boost once members ratify the agreement.

He said the TFA will bring down trade costs by 15 per cent and bolster south-south trade. The WTO DG also said that the remaining issues under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) will need to be refocusedbefore the Ministerial Conference in Nigeria at the end of the year.

"As Director General, I have made development a priority", he said, as the development dimension is crucial in balancing the global trading system.Mr. Azevedo stated that WTO provides developing and least-developed countries a seat in the rule-making table as they are not included in the current regional and mega-regional trade agreements.

Over the past two decades, the WTO has contributed towards the stability and predictability of the world trading system. Since 1995, the WTO has welcomed 33 new members including large economies like China and Russia and its 160 members represent 98 per cent of world trade. It has addressed some 500 trade disputes between members while keeping protectionist measures at bay.

India's Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said the WTO should continue its good work in stemming protectionism and urged the WTO to be more responsive to the needs of developing and least-developed countries.

Sitharaman also highlighted her concern that some countries have started to equate only free trade with development.