During her stay in this country, Okonjo-Iweala aims to advance the WTO agenda on sustainable development, inclusion of vulnerable populations and women in world trade.
Also, highlight the role of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and identify common working themes with the Colombian government’s agenda.
During today’s meeting, the minister reviewed the strategy that President Gustavo Petro’s government is promoting in terms of foreign trade and the search for balance in its international trade relations.
Reaffirming that Colombia is a country that promotes multilateralism, Umaña expressed the country’s support and support for the efforts of the Director General of the Organization.
She also indicated the need to have globalization with a human face, an approach the director agreed with.
Likewise, the minister expressed his concern over issues such as the reactivation of the WTO dispute settlement system, the paralysis of which few countries have benefited from.
He pointed to the need to curb the huge subsidies developed countries give to their agricultural, industrial and service sectors, which affect trade in developing countries.
He also voiced the government’s concerns about the European Union’s so-called Green Pact, which will affect agricultural exports from developing countries, including Colombia, and which appears more than a pact but like an imposition.
It was a very positive, cordial and friendly meeting, with agreement between the minister and the director on the various issues discussed, said the ministry’s press team.
Among the issues discussed at the meeting was the deal banning harmful subsidies to marine fisheries, adopted at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in June last year.
The Director of the WTO stressed that “it was a fantastic achievement and Colombia played a very positive role”.
This agreement is already being processed in the Congress of the Republic of Colombia, where it will undergo its third debate in the approval process.
For the Director of the Multilateral Organization, this is one of the topics of great interest as this is the first WTO agreement to have environmental sustainability as a key pillar.
This official visit by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman to head the WTO, comes after then-Director General Roberto Azevedo visited the country in 2016.
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