Doha development round speech by DG Pascal Lamy

24 Feb '07

2 min read

The Philippines' active involvement in the Doha round at this crucial time is vital, says Lamy if we are to reach a result, it is time for all countries to make a contribution now, stressed Director-General Pascal Lamy in a speech to the Business Roundtable of the Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Manila on 23 February 2007.

Speeches - DG Pascal Lamy:
Members of the Philippines Business Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I am pleased to be with all of you today, and to share with you my views on where we are in the on-going WTO negotiations. This event should have taken place last December, but unfortunately the appalling weather conditions prevented me from coming to the Philippines.

Later in the day I will be meeting with President Arroyo, with Mr. Favila, Secretary of Trade and Industry, and Mr. Yep, Secretary of Agriculture, for discussions about the state of play of the WTO negotiations. I also will take the opportunity to share views with civil society organizations.

I said “discussions” and not “negotiations”. I am not the negotiator-in-chief — Ministers are the negotiators. My role is to act as go-between, in a fair and neutral way, to advise, to remind WTO Members of the commitments they have already taken during these five years of negotiations and also of the necessity to translate these commitments into precise numbers or texts, pretty soon now.

Before I address the Doha Round, I would like to take the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to President Arroyo, who has been giving her generous and continuous support to the WTO, the Doha Round negotiations and to my own work.

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