Today, the members of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organisation (WTO), urged the members of the WTO to demonstrate strong political will to resume trade negotiations without further delay. The Parliamentary Conference on the WTO brings together members of parliament who specialize in trade issues and is convened by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the European Parliament.

Meeting at the House of Parliaments, the Committee adopted the following statement:

We have met to review the current state of the multilateral trade negotiations and to prepare the annual session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO. We note that the decision taken in July of this year to suspend the WTO negotiations sine die has effectively ended all hopes for the Doha Round to be concluded by the end of 2006.

This situation has been a wake-up call for political decision-makers and we welcome the fact that many of them have, in various forums, been calling for a resumption of the negotiations. We, members of parliament who have an elected mandate to oversee government action in the field of international trade and promote the fairness of trade liberalization in the interest of populations, join them in expressing support.

We urge all WTO members to demonstrate strong political will to resume the trade negotiations without further delay and call upon the United States, the European Union, the G20 members of developing countries, and others to play a constructive role in achieving this objective and to deliver an outcome that is centered on development.

The Parliamentary Conference will meet in Geneva in early December this year to assess the extent to which the WTO negotiations benefit all countries and live up to their development objectives. Meanwhile, we will work actively to ensure an early resumption of these negotiations.

---

Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 146 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations. Members of the Steering Committee from the following countries, regional assemblies, and international organizations were present: Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, European Parliament, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization.
Other press releases	Version française de ce communiqué de presse	More information

---

Contact for additional information or interviews:

Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Phone: +41 22 919 41 16 Fax: +41 22 919 41 60 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org