Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization approved the UAE’s request to host the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization, which will be held in cooperation and partnership between the Federal National Council, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament, on the sidelines of the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC13), which will be hosted by the capital, Abu Dhabi, during The first quarter of 2024. According to what is published on its official website, the Federal National Council in the United Arab Emirates, in cooperation and partnership between the Federal National Council, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament, the UAE will host the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization next year
The Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization approved the UAE’s request to host the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization, which will be held in cooperation and partnership between the Federal National Council, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament, on the sidelines of the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC13), which will be hosted by the capital, Abu Dhabi, during The first quarter of 2024.
The UAE's hosting of the important global event is an embodiment of the existing cooperation and partnership relationship between the Federal National Council and the Inter-Parliamentary Union and a continuation of the successes of UAE parliamentary diplomacy during its participation in international parliamentary events. The UAE enjoys it through its membership in the World Trade Organization, as a major player in the global multilateral trading system, and it also comes as a culmination of the efforts and position of the UAE as a major gateway to global trade and investment.
Participants in the 51st session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization praised the efforts of the UAE to host the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, and the Parliamentary Conference on the Organization, which is a joint project between the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament, with the aim of enhancing the transparency of the World Trade Organization. .
His Excellency Marwan Obaid Al Muhairi, member of the Federal National Council and member of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization, participated in the work of the 51st session of the Committee, which was held in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium.
His Excellency Marwan Al Muhairi, member of the Federal National Council, representative of the country in the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization, affirmed that the UAE is keen to support the multilateral trade agenda, based on its strategic location on the global trade map, and its track record as an essential hub for global trade, and supporting all efforts. And initiatives and dialogues that would create a global economic system that is fair, sustainable, flexible and inclusive, allowing everyone to benefit from it.
In the intervention of the UAE Parliamentary Division in the session, during a discussion on a topic on "Exploring ways to enhance the exchange of good practices between parliamentarians to promote global trade", Al-Muhairi stressed that the WTO Parliamentary Conference is an important opportunity to exchange and share best practices and knowledge to improve the legislative and oversight frameworks of parliaments in the field of International trade, in addition to exchanging views and proposals, increasing cooperation and coordinating parliamentary procedures in the field of supporting multilateral international trade, facing challenges and exploring opportunities.
He also stressed that the UAE is always ready to exchange experiences and knowledge in the field of supporting the future of global trade, especially in the field of innovation, technology and digital transformation, especially as it is the host of the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization in 2024.
His Excellency said in an intervention on the "upcoming annual session of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization", that according to a new report of the World Trade Organization, the UAE ranked 11th in the world in terms of merchandise exports during the year 2022, with a total of $599 billion, contributing $2.4 billion. percent of the world’s exports of goods, achieving a growth of 41 percent. Perhaps these figures reflect the vitality, diversity and openness of the UAE economy based on knowledge, innovation and modern technology, and it also represents clear evidence of the UAE’s entitlement to host the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in the capital. Abu Dhabi, stressing the UAE's keenness to support the multilateral trade agenda, based on its strategic location on the world trade map, and its track record as an essential hub for global trade, and its desire to continue dialogue and cooperation to support all efforts and initiatives that would create a global economic system that is fair and sustainable. Flexibility and comprehensiveness allows everyone to benefit from it.
In addition, during the meeting of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization, the UAE Parliamentary Division presented several proposals to enhance the exchange of experiences and knowledge related to global trade. Supporting a strategy for development and trade, especially for developing and least developed countries, which will allow the transfer of best practices, experiences and global knowledge to parliaments.
In the intervention of the UAE Parliamentary Division on the "Agreement to Support the Fisheries Sector", His Excellency Marwan Al Muhairi said that illegal fishing without reporting and without regulation leads to undermining the efforts made at all national, regional and global levels in order to achieve sustainable fisheries. And achieving marine biodiversity, so the government of the UAE makes unremitting efforts to preserve its marine resources, and has put in place many environmental legislations that reduce marine waste and its dangers and allow for the sustainability of resources. The process of catching fish effectively, and ending excessive and illegal fishing, as it specified the specifications of fishing equipment, the prohibited areas for fishing and the prohibited species, as well as the seasons in which it is forbidden to catch certain types of fish.
His Excellency stressed the importance of working as parliamentarians to protect fisheries and oceans, in a way that ensures support for the sustainability of the oceans and their resources, by regulating the management of marine protected areas and providing them with sufficient resources, developing and improving laws, legislation and regulations necessary to reduce overfishing and marine pollution, and setting controls that prohibit specific types of marine pollution. Fisheries subsidies that contribute to overfishing, seriously consider the subsidies granted to support destructive fishing operations, and all the repercussions and practices of overfishing, on millions of people and on the sustainability of our resources, and redouble efforts in educating and educating the fishermen community about the negative effects of illegal and unreported fishing activities about it and unorganized.
During the 51st session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization held in the Belgian capital, Brussels, Dr. Angela Allard, Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization, reviewed recent developments in the World Trade Organization, including the UAE's preparations for holding the thirteenth Ministerial Conference.
It is worth noting that the WTO parliamentary conferences are usually held on the sidelines of the WTO ministerial conferences, given that parliamentarians play an important role in the multilateral trading system and the WTO, and that any agreement resulting from intergovernmental negotiations in the WTO needs in most cases to the approval of legislators.
The Parliamentary Division of the Federal National Council affirms its continuous activity and active participation in the activities and organs of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the meetings of the permanent and sub-committees of the Union Assembly, as the cooperation relations between the UAE Parliamentary Division and the Inter-Parliamentary Union are characterized by a high level of strategic partnership since the Council’s accession to membership in the Union in 1977. And the distinguished relationship between the two sides culminated in the signing of the Technical Cooperation and Partnership Agreement in March 2014, which is the first in the world that the Union signed with a parliament since its founding in 1889 years.
This partnership has also been strengthened over decades through the keenness of the UAE Parliamentary Division to participate in the various meetings and activities of the Union, and the accumulated experience possessed by the National Council and its General Secretariat embodied in the representation of the UAE Parliamentary Division of the Arab Group in the Executive Committee of the Union for more than ten years and until today, as well as Presiding over the first forum for young parliamentarians that was established based on a proposal submitted by the UAE Parliamentary Division, in addition to presenting many proposals, development projects and emergency items, and the membership of members of the Division in the offices of the Union committees and committees that are established to discuss global issues.