From 12 to 15 June 2022, the State Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, is taking part in the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva. In the margins of the conference, a meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) was held in Geneva on 12 June.
Ahead of the opening of the 12th Ministerial Conference, the Parliamentary Secretary participated in an event in support of Ukraine convened and chaired by the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis. In a joint statement, 57 WTO members expressed their solidarity with Ukraine and committed to supporting its exports and reconstruction. An address was delivered at the event by Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Economy and trade representative, Taras Kachka.
On the opening day of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference a discussion was held on current problems and challenges faced by the multilateral trade system. Special focus was directed to the food security issue brought to the fore as the result Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Due to Russian aggression and the blockade of Ukraine’s ports effected by Russia as a deliberate move, the export of 20 million tonnes of grain from Ukraine has been obstructed, which amounts to the cargo of 300 large bulk carrier ships. The EU is currently providing maximum support for Ukraine to enable at least a part of the grain to be exported by land routes, and an international solution is being sought to safeguarding the security of the port of Odessa.
“Russia’s brutal and cynical invasion of Ukraine inflicts inhuman suffering on Ukrainian people, grossly violates the fundamentals of international law and creates the most severe security crisis in Europe since World War II. Moreover, this war has also left a very significant effect on trade and supply chains, most notably on food security. Russia is blockading Ukraine’s ports and stealing its grain, as well as having destroyed at least six large grain silos. Russia is using food as a weapon of war, and has created this global food crisis,” the Parliamentary Secretary underlined at the session.
In her remarks to the Ministerial Conference, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica underlined that the restart of manufacturing and production, especially in the agricultural sector, and enabling Ukraine to export its goods had to be one of the immediate priorities to address the growing food crisis. Together with representatives from other EU Member States, the Parliamentary Secretary noted that it was essential in the WTO framework to prevent the implementation of measures restricting food exports and to keep markets open.
At the meeting of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) was held on Sunday, 12 June, representatives of EU Member States expressed their support for the European Commission’s work related to topics high on the agenda of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference. The Member States underlined that it was vital for the organisation’s credibility and future that concrete decisions be achieved concerning WTO reform and its contribution to countering the COVID-19 pandemic, lifting the harmful subsidies in the fisheries sector, and finding a solution to the food security crisis.
Background information
The World Trade Organisation is an international organisation established in 1995 with the aim of promoting international trade and regulating trade relations between its members. The WTO currently has 164 members, covering over 95% of global trade. Latvia has been a member of the WTO since 1999.
The Ministerial Conference, held biannually, is the central decision-making body of the WTO. The 12th Ministerial Conference was initially scheduled to be held in June 2020 in Nursultan, Kazakhstan, but the event was postponed for several times due to the spread of COVID-19.