World Trade Organization (WTO)

Adam Wolfenden, Deputy Coordinator of Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG), criticized the proposed text for letting large-scale distant water fishing fleets off the hook from cutting their subsidies. He emphasized that such a proposal undermines accountability for global overfishing.

Hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the MC13 is being attended by Ministers responsible for trade from the 164 member states of the WTO from February 26- 29, 2024.

After long hours of negotiations, a draft agreement- a truncated version of previous texts, circulated to ministers was accepted and negotiations on the issue will continue after the Ministerial.

This follows the final National Validation Workshop, which took place in Port Moresby on 15th July, 2016.

The European Union funded Trade Related Assistance phase two (TRA 2) program has been providing intensive technical assistance to the Trade Division of the Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry (DTCI) over recent months, working very closely to finalise the document with the officers of the Trade Division.

In a statement, the EU says PNG has not had a national trade policy to guide the country in its trade negotiations and agreements.