New Delhi, March 27: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized the need for World Trade Organization (WTO) reforms to be pursued through a transparent, inclusive, and member-driven process focused on development. Speaking at the ongoing 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, he highlighted the importance of maintaining key principles such as non-discriminatory consensus-based decision-making and equality.
During the conference, Goyal met with Cameroon’s Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute to discuss ways to strengthen India-Cameroon cooperation, addressing both bilateral and multilateral issues. The leaders also deliberated on fundamental issues concerning the WTO, including its core principles.
Goyal held discussions with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala regarding the MC14 agenda and separately met with his counterparts from the Netherlands, France, and Ethiopia to review bilateral trade relations.
Additionally, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal engaged in bilateral meetings with counterparts from Chile, Paraguay, the United States, Nepal, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, and New Zealand, as well as a delegation of European Union parliamentarians.
The MC14 session commenced on March 26 under the chairmanship of Cameroon’s Minister of Trade and is set to conclude on March 29. The inaugural session featured participation from WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and trade ministers and senior representatives from member countries.
Following the session, a brief program was held to celebrate the implementation of the fisheries subsidy agreement. Discussions focused on the MC14 agenda and opportunities to strengthen bilateral trade relations. Talks with Chile and Peru included ongoing negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), while discussions with the European Union and New Zealand reviewed the progress of related FTA negotiations.
India reiterated that a non-discriminatory WTO framework remains a fundamental principle, as reflected in the Marrakech Agreement. The country also stressed the need for a development-centric agenda, which includes a permanent solution for public stockholding (PSH) for food security, effective special and differential treatment (S&D) provisions for developing and least developed countries (LDCs), and the restoration of a fully functional dispute settlement mechanism.
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