IN RUSSIA, HERMINIO BLANCO PROMOTES HIS CANDIDACY FOR THE POSITION OF WTO DIRECTOR-GENERAL

• Moving forward with the Doha Round is a priority.

Today, Dr. Herminio Blanco Mendoza, candidate for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Ambassador Maria de Lourdes Aranda, Special Envoy of the Mexican government, traveled to Moscow to ask Russian officials to give Dr. Blanco their support.

Accompanied by Ambassador Ruben Beltran, Dr. Blanco and Ambassador Aranda met with the Russia’s First Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrey I. Denisov, who in turn was accompanied by Alexander V. Gorban and Alexey V. Schetinin, heads of the Economic Cooperation Department and the Latin American Department of the Ministry, respectively.

During the lengthy meeting, the Russians showed great interest in hearing about Dr. Blanco’s proposals and vision for the future of the WTO, and his program for moving the Doha Round negotiations forward. They said that they would give unbiased priority to the selection of the new WTO Director-General. The Mexican delegation offered to exchange experiences regarding the WTO to assist Russia after its recent entrance into the organization.

The Mexicans also met with Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, with whom Dr. Blanco spoke about the challenges for Russia and its entrepreneurs given the country’s entry into the WTO. Shokhin said the WTO was important for providing predictability and clear rules for international trade. The meeting was also attended by the Vice President of the union, Oleg Preksin, WTO Charge d'Affaires Boris Vishnevsky, and B20 Sherpa Andrey Laptev.

At both meetings, the participants told Dr. Blanco of the importance they attach to the WTO and their confidence that the new WTO Director-General will be able to make progress with the stalled Doha Round.

Dr. Blanco explained his vision and plans for the future of the WTO and spoke about his long experience in trade negotiations, emphasizing his experience as Commerce Secretary, a leader of the Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the European Union and as a key member of the negotiating team for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).