Speedily Ratify WTO Protocol On Fisheries Subsidies, Okonjo-Iweala Tells Nigeria

The Director -General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has urged Nigeria to speedily ratify the WTO protocol on fisheries subsidies.

She said this on Tuesday during a meeting with the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment Mariam Katagum at the headquarters of the Ministry in Abuja.

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This is coming after about twenty-one years of stalled negotiation on Fisheries Subsidies.

At the 12th Ministerial Conference held in Geneva Switzerland, WTO members agreed not to provide subsidies to fishing and fishing-related activities on the high seas that are outside the competence of a regional fisheries management organization.

Addressing a news conference during her working visit to the ministry, Okonjo-Iweala said the agreement is a historic achievement for the membership being the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target to be fully met through a multilateral agreement.

She said the agreement will put a stop to harmful fisheries subsidies, which are key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks.

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“The Agreement represents a historic achievement for the membership as the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target to be fully met, the first SDG target met through a multilateral agreement, the first WTO agreement to focus on the environment, the first broad, binding, multilateral agreement on ocean sustainability, and only the second agreement reached at the WTO since its inception” she said.

Katagum said President, Muhammadu Buhari has already directed for the process of preparing a council note for the Federal Executive Council to do the needful to consolidate the landmark achievement of the Geneva Conference.

Since about 260 million people globally depend on fish and about 12 million in Africa, the WTO said there will be further negotiations with stakeholders to deepen the agreement.

Katagum commended the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for her leadership and tenacity at the WTO.

The visit was a follow-up to the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Geneva.

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Her visit comes barely a month after the WTO’s Council of Ministers meeting which was held in Geneva between June 12 to 17 with a major focus on improving trade, health, food security, and economic reforms which aim at building economic resilience globally.

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