Hamayun nominated facilitator on non-agri market access for WTO Moot

ISLAMABAD—Federal Minister for Commerce, Humayun Akhtar Khan has been nominated as the facilitator for negotiations on non-agriculture market access at the 6th Ministerial Conference of the WTO.
The conference is scheduled to be held in Hong Kong from December 13th to 18th.
Ministers from different countries have already reached Hong Kong and will be meeting each other informally in different formats prior to the conference.
This is the first such opportunity for Pakistan in a Ministerial Conference of the WTO. It is being widely acknowledged that Pakistan has been entrusted with this responsibility inrecognition of its positive role in the negotiation on Industrial Market Access at the WTO in the recent years.
Humayun Akhtar Khan has initiated a series of informal consultations with key ministers and personalities.
He met with Hong Kong’s Commerce Minister and Chairman of the WTO Ministerial Conference, John Tsang and with the Director General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy on Sunday.
The meetings were held with a view to discuss the current state of play and exchange ideas for facilitating convergences in these negotiations.
It may be recalled that Pakistan has all along been stating that the Doha Development Round of negotiations hold the promise of greater market access for goods produced by developing countries and the Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong should pave the way for delivering on the promises made at Doha.
A successful outcome of this Ministerial Conference is more in the benefit of developing countries who should work together in order to ensure a positive outcome.
Humayun also met with Zambian Commerce Minister who apprised him of the negotiating position of the LDCs and expectations of this group from the Ministerial Conference at Hong Kong.—APP