15-16 October 2024

    Item 2 (Incorporation of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement into Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement – Draft Decision)

Thank you Chair. I would like to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to the outgoing ambassadors for their contribution to the WTO. I wish them every success in their new endeavours.

Also, I would like to extend my warm welcome to the newly arrived ambassadors and look forward to working with them in the future.

On IFD, I would like to thank the Co-coordinators for their hard work and leadership, and welcome Pakistan to join the IFDA.

The IFDA is supported by over 90 developing members and LDCs. In addition, a number of non-participants are in the process of joining.

The international communities are eagerly waiting. The Pact for the Future, adopted by the UN General Assembly last month, urges collaborative efforts, among others, to promote investment facilitation, so as to ensure “the multilateral trading system continue to be an engine for sustainable development”. The G20 states endorsed by consensus the Call to Action on Global Governance Reform and supported “fostering a favorable trade and investment environment for all” as part of the actions for “Reform of the Multilateral Trading System”. The recent B20 policy paper prioritized the IFD incorporation as one of its top recommendations. UNCTAD World Investment Report 2024 emphasized the IFD agreement will “provide further impetus for action by national policymakers”.

International Organizations stand ready to help the World Bank, the International Trade Center, UNCTAD, and the Inter-American Development Bank, among others, recognize the significance of IFDA for development and have set up programs to support needs assessments and technical assistance.

In light of the overwhelming multilateral and multi-stakeholder support for the IFDA, it is deeply regrettable that consensus cannot be reached on its incorporation into the WTO legal framework, despite many rounds of consultations, clarifications and discussions. The engagement process needs to shift gear.

To seek solutions and facilitate consensus, China supports Singapore’s call to the GC Chair, to establish a dedicated consultative process with an Ambassador-facilitator appointed by the GC Chair after this GC meeting.

As the WTO approaches its 30th anniversary in December, we should deliver this important development outcome to the world by the end of this year.

Thank you Chair.