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26 January 2024
Excellencies, dear colleagues,
Good morning and welcome to this first plenary meeting of DPP in 2024.
Today's plenary marks the last Dialogue plenary meeting before MC13. First of all, as chair of this meeting and on behalf of 6 coordinators, please allow me to express my appreciation and sincere gratitude to all WTO members, stakeholders and the Secretariat for your active engagement in the DPP. Since the beginning of this Dialogue, your overwhelming support, active participation, constant passion and sincere cooperation have been impressive. In particular, since MC12, we have jointly held a series of meetings, workshops and side-events, issued more than one hundred room documents, and completed concrete and pragmatic factual summaries and compilations which cover almost all key topics.
All of those are the outcomes of the joint efforts of all of us. Delegates made hundreds of frank and pragmatic statements and interventions at various events. 85 WTO members participated in the surveys. UNEP, WCO, UNCTAD, BRS, World Bank, FAO, INBAR, IUCN, OECD and many other international organizations have maintained close cooperation with the Dialogue to ensure mutual exchange and synergy between us, and more than 45 diversified stakeholders contributed to the Dialogue by sharing invaluable input, suggestions, research results and scientific evidence.
As we all know, during the drafting of the MC13 Ministerial Statement, more than 600 comments were submitted by WTO members and hundreds were shared by stakeholders since the Zero-text was launched back in May 2023, all of which led to the formation of the current version. Obviously, we won’t be where we are without the efforts of every one of us here.
Regarding the MC13 Ministerial Statement, we are sure that it will be a milestone in the progress of the DPP, and a good experiment in the continuous development and reform of the WTO. This MC13 Ministerial Statement is a concrete action to deliver the calling by our ministers in the previous Ministerial Statement. The Ministerial Statement shows the political will and commitment of our trade ministers, and reflects the direction and measures of actively exploring WTO reform. The factual compilations attached to the statement provide a solid foundation for further dialogue.
Of course, we all understand that the current text of the statement is not perfect for almost everyone. But the fact that we are able to reach today's consensus despite such diverse concerns is a remarkable achievement in essence. We have seen great flexibility from almost every Member by sacrificing some of their positions and concerns. This shows that we have a common goal, which is to make our contribution to the global efforts to tackle plastic pollution from the trade side through cooperation at the WTO.
Regarding the next step, I believe that with the joint efforts of all of us, DPP will make steady and practical progress. We will hold a press conference during MC13 to introduce this Ministerial Statement to WTO members, stakeholders and the public, and welcome the participation and support of all WTO members and the international community.
After MC13, we will work together to define a road-map to further advance the Dialogue in a pragmatic manner. In my view, as priorities for the next step, we need to further compile and analyze trade measures on the basis of compilations, further clarify what the WTO can and should do, improve transparency, enhance consistency in trade policies, explore mechanisms for capacity building and technical assistance, and promote trade-related actions. We will further strengthen synergy with other international processes, welcome more members to join DPP, and jointly seek international consensus on making trade part of the solution to tackle plastic pollution.
Recently, in Davos, Klaus Schwab, the founder of the WEF, was widely quoted as saying that “Dialogue is more important than ever to rebuild trust and form partnerships to improve outcomes for economics, people, and planet.” I think this sentence is also appropriate for our Dialogue. The spirit of solidarity and cooperation shown by WTO members in this Dialogue brings hope for solving the challenge of plastic pollution as well as various international issues. That is, through solidarity, cooperation, reform and innovation, we could jointly build an equal and orderly multi-polar world as well as an inclusive and sustainable economic globalization that benefits all.
Once again, I would like to thank all participants in the DPP, and wish the follow-up meeting a success.
