Qatar to launch world trade agreement draft: Rohani

SATYENDRA PATHAK

DOHA

QATAR has prepared an extensive world trade agreement draft to be launched on April 22 for open discussion by the world community, Qatar Chamber Director-General Remy Rohani told Qatar Tribune.

“The draft will be launched on the first day of the 8th World Chambers Congress in Doha on April 22 for open discussion,” Rohani said.

“We want to take Doha Development Agenda (DDA), launched in 2001, further and set right the multi-trade negotiations this time,” Rohani said.

Qatar Chamber, in partnership with International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), is mobilising business on concrete trade and investment proposals for an immediate debt-free stimulus to the world economy that will generate badly-needed growth and jobs.

“The world trade agenda (WTA) is a global project to engage business to provide a practical approach to reaching agreements in the WTO,” Rohani said.

Trade has been a driver of growth and employment for the past 60 years. This engine of the world economy is threatened by the stalemate in multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO’s Doha development agenda.

The increase in trade and investment restrictions fuelled by the global economic downturn is damaging the business climate and prospects for recovery. “This is occurring precisely when global trade and investment opening could provide a debt-free and much-needed boost to world economic growth,” he said.

Businesses produce the goods and services that are traded on a daily basis throughout the world.

“One of the challenges faced by business is the absence of global rules in many crucial areas.

Improving the capacity of the WTO to expand international rules for trade and investment is a necessary condition for creating an effective 21st century rulesbased multilateral system that generates economic growth and jobs creation,” he said.

“The world trade agenda is a strong business-led initiative to bolster rules-based trade. The WTO lends its support to this initiative by engaging business to provide recommendations to advance global trade negotiations,” he said.

The world trade agenda aims to define multilateral trade negotiation priorities for business. Help governments set a trade policy agenda for the 21st century that contributes to economic growth and job creation.