The Doha Development package: Did the Hong Kong WTO conference bring the Doha round any closer to conclusion?

tralac was invited to make a presentation at a meeting convened by the Southern African Regional Poverty Network dealing with the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December 2005.

This meeting brought together experts and key stakeholders currently working on trade, poverty and sustainable development issues in SADC as they relate to WTO processes. The specific aims and objectives of the Seminar were:

• To review the outcomes of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference as seen from different key stakeholders.

• To ascertain to what extent the decisions contained in the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference Trade Ministers Declaration under agriculture, services, Non-market access (NAMA), HIV/Aids and the development package will impact on ongoing efforts on poverty reduction in SADC.

• To review how effective and successful the strategies employed by different actors contributed to the success/failure of the Conference. This will also help in identifying gaps and exploring areas for strengthening the models of engagement in such events.

Robert Wilson, tralac’s Capacity Building Manager, responded to whether the Ministerial Conference brought the Doha Round any closer to conclusion. His presentation questioned who the real beneficiaries are of the various outcomes of the Ministerial Conference, identified the salient elements of the ‘Development Package’ in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, reviewed the development components of the Doha Ministerial Declaration and suggested that the relationship between trade and development should be re-examined by civil society organizations.

» Click here to find out more about the meeting.