In Hong Kong, members of parliaments urge ministers to achieve fair results in multilateral trade

On 16 December 2005, representatives of the IPU and the European Parliament attending the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong transmitted to the WTO Director-General, Mr. Pascal Lamy, the text of the declaration adopted at the end of the parliamentary session on the WTO, which had been held on 12 and 15 December in conjunction with the WTO Conference. The declaration expressed concern at the lack of progress in WTO negotiations dealing with all key sectors, especially the major development issues, and urged trade ministers to bear in mind that the very lives and livelihoods of literally hundreds of millions of persons depended on the achievement of balanced, fair and equitable results in multilateral negotiations.

The parliamentary session in Hong Kong was coorganized by the IPU and the European Parliament, and attended by nearly 450 delegates, including some 300 parliamentarians from 72 countries. Many of them came to Hong Kong as part of their country's official delegations to the Ministerial Conference, and were directly involved in the negotiation process.

From left to right : Mr. Ezio Perillo, Mr. Enrique Baron Crespo, Mr. Pascal Lamy, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, Mrs. Wuyun Qimugem, and Mr. Anders B. Johnsson.

"The keywords for our debate are agriculture, non-agricultural market access, services, rules and institutional capacity building, among others", said IPU President Pier Ferdinando Casini at the opening of the parliamentary session. For his part, the WTO Director General, Pascal Lamy, who also took part in the session, welcomed the intention of legislators "to remind negotiators of the imperative of reaching a successful outcome".

Despite these expectations, the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong ended with an inconclusive result. Much remains to be done in order to conclude the Doha Round by the end of 2006. Parliamentary oversight of WTO talks will be an important factor in this process.