2nd October 2008

Food crisis, climate change, and Doha top the agenda of the WTO Public Forum

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The WTO Public Forum, an annual civil society event at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, took place over two days from 24 to 25 September. This year’s event, titled “Trading into the Future,” brought together academics, officials, and concerned citizens from around the world to consider what the multilateral trading system has achieved in its 60-year history, and to reflect on the challenges and opportunities that the system faces in the years ahead.

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy opened the session by welcoming participants and calling on them to continue to put forward new ideas for the organisation. “It is only with your active participation that the WTO can come to reflect the type of institution you seek for the future,” he said.

As in years past, ICTSD was an active participant in this year’s forum. The organisation sponsored sessions on two of the main themes at the forum: the global food crisis and the interaction between trade and climate change. ICTSD staff also played important roles in sessions on negotiating capacity, government transparency, and Russian trade policy.

Other major subjects of discussion at the forum’s more than 40 sessions included the role of regional agreements in lowering trade barriers around the world, the importance of viewing trade policies from a human rights perspective, and whether the Doha agenda on agriculture should be revised.

For more information on this year’s forum, please visit the official forum site by clicking here.

To read Pascal Lamy’s opening address, please click here.