RIYADH – The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Mr. Mike Moore met in Geneva with Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, the Vice-Chair of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF).
The meeting addressed the issue of building capacities for Arab countries within the framework of the new round of negotiations.
Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh shared with Mr. Moore the decision to create a CASIN center for building multilateral trade negotiation capacities, which was the fruit of collaborative efforts by Mike Moore and other high officials in the WTO and in response to the direct requests for assistance that the WTO received from the Arab world.
The center aims to build human-capacity to develop the knowledge and awareness of Arab countries on issues relating to the WTO, and raising their negotiating capabilities in order to achieve active participation in the global trade system. The purpose of this is to get more participation from Arab countries in the multilateral trade system, and assist in building Arab human capacity in the area of setting trade policy.
The meeting also addressed the activities following the fourth WTO ministerial conference that convened last November in Doha. Mr. Moore expressed his appreciation for the efforts exerted to support the fair integration of Arab countries into the global economy, such that they become integrated at the same level as other countries.
Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh suggested the creation of an Arab consultative group for the WTO secretariat, in order to study the main topics and problems affecting the Arab world in light of the merits and effects of the WTO agreements, such that this group includes representatives from both the public and private sectors.