Geneva, Switzerland (BBN)- The General Council has agreed that the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference will take place in Bali, Indonesia on December 3-6 next year.
The opening ceremony will be held in the afternoon of Tuesday December 3. This will be followed by two working days, on December 4-5. The closing ceremony will be held on December 6.
General Council chair Ambassador Elin Johansen (Norway) proposed the dates for the Bali Ministerial after holding extensive consultations with members.
Also resulting from her consultations, the chair proposed the following principles "to guide both the preparations for MC9 and the Conference itself":
First, the “FIT” principle — Full participation, Inclusiveness, and Transparency; Second, any issue for action or decision by Ministers proposed by members should be developed by them in line with the normal consensus principle; and third, issues for action or decision by Ministers should be agreed well before MC9.
Indonesia welcomed the official confirmation of the dates of the 9th Ministerial Conference. It said the beautiful setting of Bali would be conducive to advancing the Doha Round. It looked forward to a successful Ministerial with the support and co-operation of members and the Secretariat.
BBN/SSR/AD-12Dec12-12:24 pm (BST)
