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Tim Groser will make a strong – but indirect – plug for the right person to be appointed to the top job in global trade when he heads to Surabaya, Indonesia tomorrow for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministers’ meeting.
Groser’s message is – “It is crucial to the success of the WTO’s mission that its members choose a candidate who has the right mix of skills and experience – both political and technical – and one who enjoys the confidence of the wider membership, including APEC members.” (see below)
Asia-Pacific ministers meeting in Indonesia this week are vital to Groser’s interests in securing the role of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation. This is now into a ‘sudden death’ round to determine the final two candidates. Indonesia’s Mari Pangestu, a former trade minister, is one of the five candidates in the second round. But Gita Wirajawen is the current Indonesian trade minister and will host the meeting.
South Korea’s trade minister Bark Taeho and Mexico’s trade minister Hermino Blanco – who are also in the five candidates whose credentials are being assessed by representatives of the WTO’s 159 member states – are also Apec trade ministers.
The stalled WTO Doha Round of international trade negotiations is one of the agenda items for Apec trade ministers.
“This is an important moment in the juncture of the WTO. The challenge facing the WTO today is one of relevance. While a number of significant regional trade initiatives are proceeding well, at the multilateral level WTO Members have found it difficult to successfully conclude the Doha Development Round. This APEC meeting provides an opportunity to explore ways to ensure that the Ninth WTO Ministerial meeting in Bali in November will represent a step forward for the multilateral trading system,” says Groser.
“At the same time WTO members
are in the process of selecting a new Director-General. It is crucial to the success of the WTO’s mission that its members choose a candidate who has the right mix of skills and experience – both political and technical – and one who enjoys the confidence of the wider membership, including APEC members.”
The meeting will run over 20-21 April with the focus on ‘A Resilient Asia-Pacific, Engine of Global Growth’.
“I am pleased that Indonesia has chosen to focus on regional economic integration and promoting the flow of goods, services and capital among APEC economies,” says Groser. “The Asia-Pacific region is vital to New Zealand’s trade interests, with over 70 per cent of goods exports going to APEC member economies.”
While in Surabaya, Groser will meet with ministers from other participants in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.
“TPP participants are working to achieve a comprehensive, high-standard agreement consistent with the 2011 Honolulu statements and are looking to conclude negotiations on this basis in 2013. The meeting in Surabaya will be an important checkpoint to review progress and discuss with my counterparts how we can reach a successful conclusion. I expect ministers will also want to discuss Japan’s recently announced interest in joining the negotiation.”