Minister Greene Headed Antigua and Barbuda’s Delegation at the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference.

Under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation and the United Arab Emirates, the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) convened on 26th February 2024 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Antigua and Barbuda’s Delegation headed by the Honourable Foreign Minister, E.P Chet Greene and consisting of the nation’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation H.E Colin Murdoch and Director of International Trade, Miss Joy-Marie King were locked in intense negotiations.

During the engagement, a plethora of international trade issues within the multilateral sphere were negotiated at the political level in accordance with the MC12 mandate.

Minster Greene in his address to the Ministerial Body on the matter of dispute settlement on behalf of the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACP), asserted to members “the need to accelerate the formalization of discussions as soon as practicable within a reasonable period after the conference and must be conducted based on the longstanding WTO principles of transparency, inclusiveness, openness, member-driven and consensus”.

Initially scheduled for 26-29 February, the Conference was extended in a final push to reach outcomes on the various issues at stake. These outcomes are detailed in the adopted Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration, where members amongst others committed to preserving and strengthening the ability of the multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, to respond to current international trade challenges.

Outcomes in the following areas were achieved to include:

Ministers also engaged in a discourse on how international trade relates to two pressing issues that go to the heart of current political, economic and environmental challenges, namely sustainable development and socioeconomic inclusion.

The conference also formally approved the WTO membership terms of Comoros and Timor-Leste, the first new members in almost eight years. Members also agreed on a Ministerial Decision on concrete measures to ease the path to graduation from the category of least-developed countries.

Additionally, Minister Greene within the margins of the conference engaged in several bilateral meetings including with the Minister of Foreign, European Affairs and Trade of Malta His Excellency Ian Borg where brief discussions on matters related to climate change and vulnerability, Second phase of MoU on water cooperation, support of Antigua and Barbuda’s leadership regarding SIDS 4, an upcoming Ministerial visit to Malta and Antigua and Barbuda’s aspirations for increased engagement with the European Union.

Minister Greene also met with Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade for the United Arab Emirates. The discourse focused on trade and investment opportunities between both countries including but not limited to the hospitality industry, aviation and the fisheries sector. Both Ministers agreed to follow up at the technical level.