The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Zuko Godlimpi, is expected to attend the 2024 World Trade Organisation (WTO) Public Forum, which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 10 to 13 September 2024.
The theme of this year’s public forum is “Re-globalisation: Better Trade for a Better World.” The Forum will explore how re-globalisation through trade can lead to a better world.
The WTO Public Forum is the WTO’s largest outreach event, offering a unique platform to interact with stakeholders from around the world, engage with the latest developments in global trade, and propose ideas to improve the multilateral trading system.
This annual event attracts diverse stakeholders, including government policymakers, international organisations, the business community, academia, parliamentary representatives, and civil society.
The Forum will feature 139 interactive sessions organised by various stakeholders and the WTO Secretariat, covering various topics under sub-themes such as how green policies, services, and digitalisation can maximise trade benefits, build progress, and enhance welfare.
The themes and sub-themes of this year’s Forum are relevant to the priorities of the African continent as defined by Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Godlimpi’s programme includes the meetings with major WTO members as well as courtesy calls to the leaders of the World Trade Organisation, the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), and the South Centre, among others.
The Forum will begin with the release of the World Trade Report, which this year will look at the complex interconnections between trade and inclusivity across and within economies.
It will also include a lecture by Jason Furman, the Aetna Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy at Harvard University and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama.
The full 2024 WTO Public Forum programme is available Here.
