Bogota, February 23 (Prensa Latina) Colombia's Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña, will advocate for multilateralism in international trade relations at an upcoming meeting on the issue, an official source reported today.
During the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from February 26 to 29, the official will also call for the reduction of protectionist measures by some countries.
According to the statement released, Colombia will use the meeting to call for the restoration of the WTO dispute settlement system to facilitate the settlement and resolution of trade disputes.
Before attending the event, Minister Umaña said that “we are once again moving towards a fragmented system, a situation of deliberate unilateralism that undermines the agreements reached.”
He added that in environmental matters and in line with the objectives of his country's government, the focus will be on the need to prioritize the protection of the planet over commercial rules and obligations.
“Colombia considers that the WTO does not evolve significantly with the rules of international trade in relation to the main problem facing humanity, such as the climate crisis, and the necessary decision to make the Sustainable Development Goals and the COP agreements binding has investment, intellectual property and movement of goods and services,” he said.
According to the release, the South American country will also propose a review of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to make it more flexible for the benefit of human health and life.
“The thirteenth Ministerial Conference must set short deadlines and objective methods for its review,” the minister said.
Ministers from the organization's 164 member countries are expected to attend the WTO meeting to address issues such as trade and sustainable development. trade and industrial policy; fishing subsidies; Agriculture; strengthening the dispute resolution system; intellectual property rights; including gender issues and electronic commerce.
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