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EU welcomes appointment of Azevedo as next WTO chief

08 May 2013 21:17 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht on Wednesday welcomed the appointment of Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo as the next Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"On behalf of the EU, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Mr. Carvalho de Azevedo," De Gucht said in a written statement.

While saying the WTO is at crossroads, De Gucht expressed confidence in Azevedo's ability to "help all the WTO members put the multilateral agenda back on track with the ultimate aim of a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA)."

De Gucht expected "a critical first step" to be the next WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali which aims to get results on trade facilitation, agriculture and a number of development issues.

"A successful outcome in Bali will send an important signal to the world of the WTO's crucial role as well as the importance of the multilateral trading system it represents," said De Gucht, promising the new WTO chief "can count on my full support to make this meeting a success."

Carvalho de Azevedo was a Brazilian diplomat with broad experience in international economic and trade issues.

The EU official also paid tribute to the outgoing Pascal Lamy who has held two consecutive terms as Director General.

"Under his leadership, the WTO has strengthened its monitoring and review of trade policies, run a well-performing dispute settlement mechanism and seen a renewed focus on aid for trade," De Gucht said.

"In difficult economic times and against the backdrop of rising protectionism, Mr. Lamy has also shown an unwavering commitment to getting an agreement in the Doha negotiations," he added.