HERMINIO BLANCO PRESENTS HIS CANDIDACY FOR THE POST OF WTO DIRECTOR-GENERAL

At a meeting of the 157 member countries of the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and observer countries today, Herminio Blanco Mendoza presented his candidacy for the post of WTO Director-General.

Dr. Blanco explained his short-, medium- and long-term proposals, stressing that development would play a key role in each time period.

• Short-term horizon: The ninth Ministerial Conference to be held in December 2013 in Bali, Indonesia, must be a success, with concrete results on substantive issues.

• Medium-term horizon: The Members should address the outstanding issues of the Doha Round and make the various WTO bodies more efficient in meeting their objectives.

• Long-term horizon: The solutions offered by regional trade agreements to the new realities and measures affecting trade in goods and services must become part of the multilateral trading system.
 
Dr. Blanco said that the WTO has succeeded in promoting trade as a dynamic engine of economic growth and development in its member countries, and has helped alleviate protectionist pressures arising from the global financial crisis. He also said that, although the Doha Round has not made progress, the WTO must be rescued from the risk of becoming irrelevant.

Herminio Blanco concluded by reiterating his firm resolve to promote responsibly the agenda he proposed along with the other WTO members for the period beginning September 1, 2013, and to make the WTO an even stronger and more important organization.

The WTO director-general is elected by consensus by the WTO General Council, in which all members of the organization participate. The General Council chair will consult with all members, in order to identify the candidate with the best qualities.

The term of office of the current Director-General, Mr Pascal Lamy, ends on August 31, 2013. In line with WTO procedures for the selection process, a total of nine countries officially presented candidates for the post of Director-General.

Each of the candidates presented their vision of the organization’s future to the WTO General Council and answered questions from the members.