Martin Eyjolfsson, the Permanent Secretary of Iceland at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the United Arab Emirates’ central role in the successful proceedings of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference.
In statements to the Emirates News Agency “WAM” following the adoption of the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration at the conclusion of the WTO conference, Eyjolfsson highlighted that the UAE succeeded in bringing key players together, including all relevant ministers, and bridging divergent viewpoints, which aided in sealing the gap and resulting in the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration.
He pointed out that the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference made good progress, setting a foundation for future ministerial conferences to build upon.
The Permanent Secretary for Iceland at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed that the WTO could play a significant role in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 14.6 related to fisheries, stating, “We take this matter seriously and will continue to work vigorously in upcoming WTO meetings.”
The 13th WTO Ministerial Conference, hosted by the UAE in Abu Dhabi, concluded this morning. The conference reached an agreement to extend the temporary waiver of certain provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), enabling developing countries to enhance their capacities to increase vaccine production to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.
Furthermore, the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration approved the extension of the moratorium on imposing customs duties on electronic commerce until the 14th Ministerial Conference of the organization in 2026.
These decisions mark significant achievements for the Ministerial Conference, which witnessed extensive negotiations on several key issues shaping the future of global trade.
