IPA CIS delegation attends the WTO Parliamentary Conference

The Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization began its work in the WTO headquarters in the Centre of William Rappard in Geneva. The main purpose of the Conference is to enhance transparency of WTO activities and ensure its accountability to legislators – the elected representatives of people.

The IPA CIS delegation led by IPA CIS Council Secretary General Alexey Segreev is attending the Conference on the invitation of its co-organizers – IPU President Saber Chowdhury and President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz.

The Conference meetings have brought together MPs focusing on international trade issues in their respective parliaments. The deliberations will cover a wide range of issues including the current status of the Doha Round negotiations and the outcomes of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

The IPU and the European Parliament have been jointly hosting the Conference since 2002. It is playing the role of a permanent mechanism of parliamentary oversight of the WTO – the parliamentary dimension of this international body. According to the Rules of Procedure of the Conference, the participant list is defined by the WTO parliaments. Representatives of international organizations and governments of WTO countries are invited as observers.

During the Conference, the IPA CIS Secretary General met with the delegation of the European Parliament. Alexey Sergeev echoed the previous cooperation practices of the IPA CIS and the EP including joint organization of international conferences on various aspects of engagement across the Eurasian continent and suggested restoring these practices in their original format. Head of the EP delegation, Chair of the EP Committee on International Trade Bernd Lange confirmed interest in stepping up these ties and expressed hope for further development of the cooperation.