Bangladesh has called for careful reforms of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to ensure its fundamental principles remain intact.
Speaking on Thursday at a session on the future of multilateral trade during the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Commerce, Industries, Textiles, and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said that while reform is necessary in today’s context, it must not undermine the organisation’s foundational rules.
At the session titled “WTO Reform: Fundamental Issues”, the minister highlighted that the WTO’s core mission is to promote trade-driven development among member countries.
He said the consensus-based and rules-based multilateral trading system, founded on equality and inclusivity, has provided crucial benefits not only to developed and developing nations but also to Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
Muktadir pointed out that arrangements such as Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) treatment, duty-free quota-free (DFQF) market access, and Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) have played key roles in ensuring equity and inclusivity in global trade.
He added that except during the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, middle incomes in developed countries have steadily grown over the last three decades, reflecting the effectiveness of the existing trade framework.
Acknowledging the need for reform, he warned that the process must not compromise the WTO’s core principles.
“The current framework, built over decades of effort, should not be dismantled under the banner of reform. Most global economies still rely on this rules-based multilateral system,” he said.
He emphasised that the reform process must be conducted with utmost caution to maintain the system’s integrity, safeguard previous achievements, and ensure inclusive and development-oriented outcomes for all member nations.
The ministerial conference, attended by trade ministers and representatives from 166 member countries, is crucial for setting global trade policy.
Bangladesh’s delegation, led by Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, includes Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman and senior officials from the Ministry of Commerce and the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in Geneva.
