Abu Dhabi Session of Parliamentary Conference on WTO issues final document

Marawan Al Muhairi, member of the Federal National Council (FNC), in his capacity as a member of the Steering Committee of the WTO Parliamentary Conference and Rapporteur of the Conference's outputs, said that the document stressed the importance of the inclusion of a parliamentary dimension in the future of multilateral cooperation on trade issues, taking into account the effective contribution of trade to the global economy.

The Abu Dhabi Session of the WTO Parliamentary Conference was organised by the FNC in cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the European Parliament at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre today.

The document emphasises the role of parliamentarians in ratifying bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that enhance and oversee the facilitation of global trade in all industries, through appropriate mechanisms.

It stresses the role of parliamentary oversight of trade in modernising the healthcare sector for the 21st century, while ensuring fair access to medicines, vaccines and vital medical technologies, as well as supporting innovation through the protection of intellectual property rights that enable its creation.

The document also stresses the importance of the WTO as a key institution for improving people's lives, negotiating trade rules, overseeing agreements, settling disputes, and preserving rules-based, open and fair trade for the benefit of all, none of which can be achieved without parliamentary participation.

The document urged all WTO members who have not yet ratified all WTO agreements, particularly the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, to do so as soon as possible, so that it can enter into force as soon as possible.

The document also highlighted the importance of transitioning to stable, open, sustainable, environmentally friendly and resilient global industrial chains, supply chains and production methods as part of future trade agreements and policies, through cooperation under the auspices of the WTO, in light of the continuous change in the world and the need to adapt to the era.

It emphasised the role of parliamentarians in enacting legislation that encourage the adoption of green trade practices that will be consistent with multilateral agreements, while maximising the benefits of trade for the environment and vulnerable communities and ensuring that trade measures related to the environment do not constitute unjustified discrimination. (ANI/WAM)