At the WTO, Azevêdo says he is optimistic about negotiations.

Carolina Gonçalves
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia - Just three months before the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference, which will take place in Bali, Indonesia, the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevêdo, remains optimistic about the negotiations between the member countries of the organization. Azevêdo took over the WTO yesterday (1st) as the first Brazilian to hold the position and the sixth Director-General of the international organization.

Azevêdo's official speech, replacing Frenchman Pascal Lamy, will only take place on the 9th, but the Brazilian has already indicated that the Doha Round is the main challenge of his four-year term. The conference in Indonesia is considered an important step in the negotiations seeking agreements that favor economic liberalization.

Despite the optimism, a few months ago Azevêdo admitted to timid progress in the negotiations and that perhaps the results in Bali are the "best possible". The issue of agricultural subsidies from the European Union is one of the most controversial and resistant points. But the Brazilian believes that, even with flexibility, it is politically impossible to address other areas and exclude agriculture from the negotiating table.

In a statement published on the WTO website, Azevêdo recalled that the economic tensions that have marked recent years have hampered negotiations. The Doha Round, launched in 2001, has been at an impasse since the beginning of the crisis, frustrating attempts at agreement and leading some governments to explore other avenues for trade liberalization and new rules.

"WTO members have identified some important areas of the Doha Round where agreement is within our reach. This is only a small part of the overall Doha package, but agreement on these issues will be an opportunity to help unlock other areas of the negotiations. It will also provide negotiators with much-needed confidence that we can still achieve multilaterally negotiated outcomes if there is the political will," he stressed.

Azevêdo said that the conference in Bali is an immediate priority, but reminded that the WTO has other important issues to pursue, such as dispute settlement, accessions, development, and the monitoring and review of trade policies. According to him, regardless of the outcome in Bali, the WTO and its members will have to face the inevitable question: "What will be next?". "But what is evident to everyone is that the options available will be considerably richer and more diverse if the negotiations in Bali are successful," he stated in the note.

Edited by: Talita Cavalcante