World leaders have lauded Nigeria for helping to facilitate the first ever global trade reform agreement, which has the potential to add $1tn to the global economy.
The world’s trade ministers agreed that the ‘helpful’ leadership of the Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga (who chaired the MC8), drew the path for success at the just-concluded ninth ministerial conference, a statement by ministry on Sunday, said.
“The fact that Minister Aganga, who is the past chair, is well versed and experienced in global issues, helped a great deal to reach a consensus. It is a good thing that the positive conclusion today started from MC8, the Rwandan Minister of Trade and Investment, Francois Kanimba, said.
On her part, the Minister for Trade and Industry for Botswana, Dorcas Makgato-Malesu, said one of the important outcomes of the MC8 was the courage to focus on key deliverables after over 10 years of negotiating the Doha issues.
“Minister Aganga, who chaired the MC8, is one of the key people helping Nigeria, and Africa as a whole, on all fronts. He has been instrumental in trying to bring together divergent views to achieve convergence in a way that everybody’s interest is protected with permissible flexibilities,” she said.
The entire 159 member countries of the WTO came to Bali for the MC9, knowing well that it was either a deal was struck regarding the three packages on the table or the WTO lost its integrity.
Ministers therefore worked very hard with Nigeria, in particular, mediating to ensure that key areas constituting major imbalances in the multilateral trading system were ironed out.
“For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered. This time, the entire membership came together. We have put the ‘world’ back in the World Trade Organisation,” the Director-General, WTO, Roberto Azevedo, told exhausted ministers after the long but fruitful talks.

Link: www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/nigeria-lauded-for-first-global-trade-deal/