- Title: WTO chief calls for 'shift of mindset' to clinch fisheries deal
- Date: 15th July 2021
- Summary: OSTEND, BELGIUM (FILE - OCTOBER 20, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CRANE PULLING FISH CONTAINERS OUT OF HOLD AND ONTO DOCK FISH IN CONTAINERS FISHING BOAT SAILING AWAY
- Embargoed: 29th July 2021 11:41
- Keywords: WTO fisheries minesterial conference negociations overfishing subsidies talks trade
- Location: DOHA, QATAR / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / OSTEND, BELGIUM
- City: DOHA, QATAR / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / OSTEND, BELGIUM
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Europe,Government/Politics,International Trade
- Reuters ID: LVA003ELYDNWN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The head of the World Trade Organization told trade ministers on Thursday (July 15) she was optimistic about concluding multilateral talks on the fishing industry soon but called for a "shift of mindset" to bridge final gaps.
The virtual conference in Geneva, the first meeting of WTO trade ministers since 2017, aims - after 20 years of talks - to fix rules to curb harmful subsidies that lead to overfishing.
"I believe that we are all genuinely committed, but a shift of mindset is necessary for us to bridge the final gaps that continue to separate members," director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told ministers in her opening address at the closed-door meeting, according to a copy of her speech seen by Reuters.
The global trade body has not reached a multilateral deal in years and Okonjo-Iweala, who took office in March, said the talks would be a "litmus test" of the body's ability to do so.
In a promising sign, a major fisheries subsidiser, the European Union, said the draft deal formed the basis for clinching a global agreement as it "contains many elements for landing zones".
"The negotiations were urgent when they began twenty years ago, and have only become more so as each year has gone by, and fish stocks have continued their alarming decline. So a result is long overdue, and the world is watching," said ambassador of Colombia and chairman of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, Santiago Wills.
Negotiators at the WTO have struggled to agree how to cap subsidies that contribute to the overfishing of the world's seas and oceans.
(Production: Cecile Mantovani) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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