Director of the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweal landed in the capital on Wednesday to discuss ways to boost global trade talks stalled.
Ahead of his meeting with the ministers of top and players fintech, SMEs and women entrepreneurs, the first woman to win a seat top in body trade told TOI that India needs to show flexibility in the negotiations, while supporting the patent, Vaccines Covid and passport vaccine is red-board red and step another limit-step trade and movement of people.
Excerpts: Being the first woman and the first DG of Africa, do you feel the extra burden of expectation? So far, there is tremendous support from everyone.
Clearly, the hope is that even though I was DG for all, this is a time when the African Continental Free Trade Agreement may be supported by the WTO.
This is the time when someone who knows the problems the continent is on the helmet.
So, there is some hope, but it’s realistic.
What would be the priority areas and key message when you land in Delhi? The first message is grateful to India for its leadership and to say that I am aware of the problems and issues raised in the WTO, seeks to assist other developing countries.
I am aware of intellectual property issues, I have to say that we need to get a resolution before the MC12 (ministerial meeting in Geneva next month) and my message to India is let’s be pragmatic so that we can reconcile the two sides.
Let’s try and get an agreement that will enable developing countries to have easier access to vaccines and technologies and knowledge, while not disintifisi research and innovation.
I would also like to thank India for export of vaccines and lift the export ban recently.
Most of those arrested were a product of AstraZeneca from Serum Institute, which is destined for the African continent.
Now after they lifted the ban, it will be sent to COVAX.
I was one of the people who designed COVAX.
The overwhelming message is that India should support the MC12 as WTO deemed unable to provide multilateral agreements.
How realistically expect a breakthrough at the meeting of ministers? Very difficult.
But from the meeting (recently) G20 and OECD, there seems to be a very supportive minister.
Momentum needs to be translated to the ambassador in Geneva.
I was a realist and I know that countries have the position and problems.
Big countries like India need to be heard, to understand where they came from.
On the issue of food security, I am very sympathetic to the concerns of India.
But at the same time, I do not think it serves the interests of developing countries or India to continue to block this agreement.
People have been fishing illegally and if you do not get an agreement, they will continue to do so, depleting fish stocks.
By the time you decide 20 years from now that you want to agree, you will not have fish.
One of the concerns that India is in the vaccine and the vaccine passports become trade barriers.
Do you see any issues with Covid become trade barriers? We oppose the use of vaccines passports as barriers to movement or any kind of barrier to trade.
It will not work because the vaccine tremendous injustice in the world – whether you will become a victim of countries that do not have access to the vaccine again? They have not got a good vaccine for all doses of vaccine have been purchased by wealthy nations or there is an export ban.
It would be a double whammy, double victimization.
Is it time to change the WTO decision-making system for one country can block anything? Consensus system is a valuable resource to be maintained because it provides the same power to everyone.
What is happening now is that many people do not see the system working for them.
If you have a system where everything is blocked because of lack of consensus, then one may wonder why they are in the system and can start using other systems.
You can see the level of frustration of not having a job leading the multilateral system favored countries to go and negotiate lajuk.
We have 105 countries who negotiate investment facilitation agreement, 86 countries are negotiating e-commerce, 65 or closer to agreement on domestic services (regulation).
India questioned the legality of these instruments.
I say let’s make the multilateral system work.