A meeting was held on 21 January 2015 at which the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) began a new consultation process aimed at agreeing on a programme of work to discuss the remaining Doha Development Agenda issues by July 2015. To continue progress made in 2014 the members would require a continued sense of urgency about the issues and would need to prioritize the most important issues. They need to target outcomes that are achievable by all the parties to the discussions and tackle the issues at the same time rather than in a sequence. The detailed discussion will include both agricultural and non-agricultural market access, services, development and issues of interest to less developed countries that are part of the Doha Development Agenda. Discussions on important issues will be convened by the relevant negotiating groups and the Director General. There will be regular meetings of all members to ensure an inclusive and transparent approach.
WTO Launches Process to Agree Doha Programme
23 January, 2015