WTO members appoint new chair for agriculture negotiations

At a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture in special session, members gave the formal green light to the appointment of Ambassador Hussain following a swift consultation process. They expressed their willingness to work with the new chair to find common ground and possible outcomes that take into account all members' topics of interest and sensitivities.

Ambassador Hussain takes over from Ambassador Alparslan Alcarsoy, former Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the WTO. The new chair paid tribute to his predecessor for his efforts to bring different positions together and for his success, in a difficult context, in presenting a draft text to ministers at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) held in Abu Dhabi in February/March 2024.

Ambassador Hussain will also chair the CoASS Subcommittee on Cotton.

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala emphasized the importance of the appointment as agriculture is expected to be "the central focus" of MC14. "We just need to bear in mind that what we are doing here is beyond the halls of this organization. It is actually something that will have tremendous impact on the outside world," she said. She also underscored that the current global food security situation remains alarmingly fragile.

DG Okonjo-Iweala stressed that, even in the current difficult trade environment, "this is a unique opportunity for us to show that we can actually pull off a good effort and result out of these agricultural negotiations." She encouraged members to move beyond their well-known positions in the lead-up to MC14 and to think creatively to develop innovative solutions that support Ambassador Hussain and the WTO Secretariat in achieving a breakthrough in the coming year.

In his first statement as new chair, Ambassador Hussain said that members will have a good opportunity at MC14 to achieve an outcome that reinforces the role of trade rules and agricultural trade. "An outcome at MC14 should be a pragmatic step forward. With limited time remaining, we must concentrate on what is both achievable and truly meaningful," he said.

The new Chair announced he will begin his tenure by meeting with delegations and group coordinators over the coming days. After these initial consultations, his intention is to invite all members to an informal meeting of the special session and dedicated sessions on public food stockholding and the "special safeguard mechanism" in the third week of April. At these meetings, he will report on his first round of bilateral and group consultations and discuss the best way forward.