Davos, 26.01.2013 - At the invitation of Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Ministers present in Davos in charge of WTO affairs as well as WTO Director General Pascal Lamy met in Davos, Switzerland, today. The purpose of the meeting was to explore ways to deliver substantial results at the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference which will take place in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2013.

Ministers gave a strong signal that they want to see a set of substantial results at the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference.

Ministers expressed their readiness to work constructively on a deal for Bali the contours of which include, at its core, an Agreement on Trade Facilitation, some issues related to agriculture, as well as additional issues of special interest to developing and in particular least developing Members.

Ministers stressed the fact that a success in Bali should not be seen as the end of the Doha road. It should be considered as a stepping stone on the way to address the remaining issues under the WTO agenda including the Doha Round.

Before today's informal WTO Ministerial Gathering, Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann met with Ministers of Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein and Norway, representing Members of the G10 coalition of net food importing countries to discuss the issues related to agriculture

Information for the media

The Federal Councillor's personal concluding remarks as well as the list of participants are included in the attachments on www.wbf.admin.ch.

Address for enquiries:

Didier Chambovey, Ambassador, Federal Council Delegate for Trade Agreements, SECO, Tel. +41 79 770 12 11

Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research - until 2012 FDEA
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