WTO Ministers in Davos back efforts to conclude Doha Round negotiations

Davos, 24.01.2015 - At the invitation of Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Ministers in charge of WTO affairs and WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo met today in Davos. The purpose of the informal gathering was to discuss the negotiating agenda for 2015 in view of a conclusion of the Doha Round.

21 WTO Members represented at Ministerial level attended the meeting on the fringes of the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos. Ministers stressed the importance of achieving progress on the "Doha Development Agenda" issues that had remained unsolved at the Bali Ministerial Conference in December 2013, notably in the areas of agriculture, industrial products and services.

Ministers underlined their readiness to engage constructively towards a realistic and clearly defined "work programme" by July, framing the negotiations on the remaining Doha issues. In this context, they recalled the central development dimension of the Round and its particular focus on issues relevant for least developed countries.

Furthermore, Ministers welcomed the hosting by Kenya of the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in December 2015.

Additional information for the media

The Federal Councillor's personal concluding remarks as well as the list of participants can be found at www.wbf.admin.ch.


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State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
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CH-3003 Bern
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medien@seco.admin.ch



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Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
http://www.wbf.admin.ch

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