Lamy urges negotiators
to be “bold and courageous”
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his address at the inaugural session of
the Sixth Ministerial Conference on 13 December 2005, said trade
negotiators must be prepared to take some risks “for improved rules, for
a level playing field, for free and fair trade — in short, the best
chance for development, the backbone of the Doha Round”.
12.12.2005
Lamy: “Hong Kong should bring us closer to the finishing line next year”
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech to the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament on 12 December 2005 in Hong Kong, China, said that members “must strengthen the Draft Declaration, build on it, and take it forward,” warning that “there is little time to spare”.
02.11.2005
Arthur Dunkel: “A life dedicated to a more open
and fair world trading system”
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech on 2 November 2005 during a
ceremony in memory of Mr. Arthur Dunkel, said the former GATT
Director-General should be an inspiration in the current trade
negotiations: “he did not change course following the fashion of the
day, but remained firmly committed to his own belief that a more open
and fair trading system is an instrument of peace and prosperity”. > More on Arthur Dunkel
24.10.2005
Lamy says progress in farm talks needed for the
Round to gain steam
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech during an interactive video
conference from Paris to the Annual Conference of the Parliamentary
Network of the World Bank in Helsinki on 22 October 2005, said “while we
have seen some progress in the agriculture dossier last week, positions
are still too far apart on agricultural market access to allow the
negotiations to progress”.
21.10.2005
Lamy reiterates call for a new “Geneva consensus”
Director-General Pascal Lamy, on 21 October 2005, said “trade liberalization is necessary but not sufficient” in his Master of Public Affairs inaugural lecture at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. He stressed that “trade liberalization policies must be accompanied with programmes that take into account the victims of trade opening”.
18.10.2005
Lamy urges more flexibility in farm talks(only in French)
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech to European Union farmers’
organizations in Strasbourg, France on 18 October 2005, encouraged the EU
and the United States to show greater flexibility in the agriculture
negotiations, adding that everyone must make compromises in the Round. He
also underlined the importance of agriculture in alleviating poverty in
developing countries.
16.10.2005
Lamy takes part in
Hong Kong Roundtable Forum
Director-General Pascal Lamy and Hong Kong,
China's Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang,
who is also chairman of the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference, were
keynote speakers of a roundtable forum on 16 October 2005 at the Hong
Kong University. NGO representatives participated in an open-floor
discussion. The host government's website broadcast the event. Mr Lamy
also spoke to journalists at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents
Club.
10.10.2005
“Trade can be a friend, and not a foe, of
conservation” — Lamy
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his opening address to the WTO Symposium
on Trade and Sustainable Development on 10 October 2005, said that the WTO
must ensure its rules help correct environmental problems and support the
implementation of multilateral environmental protection accords. He also
urged trade liberalization in goods and services that can help protect the
environment.
06.10.2005
Lamy: Trade is “fundamental tool” in fight
against poverty
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech to the UN Conference on Trade
and Development in Geneva on 6 October 2005, said that “the bottom line
will have to be that trade must act, and deliver, as an engine of GDP
growth and development”. He added that “the economic interests and
development needs of developing countries lie at the heart of the Doha
Agenda”.
05.10.2005
Lamy urges business leaders to support services
talks
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech to the International Trade
Centre Executive Forum on National Export Strategy in Montreux on 5
October 2005, stressed that “services are a core element of the Doha
Development Agenda”. He added that “there is clear link between
development and benefits brought about by the opening of services
markets”.
29.09.2005
Lamy says trade is the missing piece of the
development puzzle
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his remarks to the Development Committee
of the World Bank in Washington on 25 September 2005, said that while the
international community has taken recent steps towards debt relief and
increasing aid “there is a missing piece of the development puzzle — an
essential third pillar — and that is trade opening”.
26.09.2005
Hong Kong Ministerial is last and best chance to
conclude the Round by next year — Lamy
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his remarks to the IMF International
Monetary and Financial Committee in Washington on 24 September 2005,
said that “the world economy will not come to an end if Hong Kong fails
... but it will be left significantly weaker...” He said he would work
intensively with the IMF and the World Bank in the coming months to make
the “Aid for Trade” initiative for developing countries a reality.
23.09.2005
Lamy: “The world trade engine must be switched on
for everyone”
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech at the International
Parliamentary Union in Geneva on 22 September 2005, said that “we have a
common responsibility to ensure that the trade engine is switched on for
everyone, that no one is left behind”. He stressed that the Doha Round
represents an important opportunity for economic growth and development.
15.09.2005
Lamy lauds China's contribution to world economy
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a message on 15 September 2005 from
Geneva to the Fourth Beijing International Forum on WTO and China (2005)
and the Sixth Beijing Chaoyang International Business Festival, said that
China's recent growth shows that a more open economy is the best way to
boost competitiveness.