The World Trade Organisation is more important now than ever

Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the opening ceremony of the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on February 26, 2024. PHOTO | REUTERS    

By ANDREW MITCHELL More by this Author

Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy — it brings countries together and can transform people’s lives for the

better. I’m proud of the strength of the trading relationship between the UK and Kenya, thanks to our Economic Partnership Agreement and the Developing Countries Trading Scheme.

Our two countries have a long history of economic cooperation. Bilateral trade between Kenya and the UK is currently worth Sh256 billion annually. There are currently an estimated 150 UK enterprises in Kenya that directly employ over 250,000 Kenyans. British companies are amongst Kenya’s largest taxpayers.

The UK is Kenya's largest source of foreign direct investment, and British businesses are spread across multiple sectors – including green infrastructure and climate finance. Progress is being made on the flagship deals worth £3.4 billion (Sh621 billion) agreed upon by the UK Prime Minister and President William Ruto in 2022, and they align with the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative launched by President Ruto at COP28.

Increased trade and investment between the UK and Kenya would not have been possible without the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its director-general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Since 1995 it has set global trading rules which provide a common, predictable, level playing field for businesses around the world. So far 164 countries accounting for over 98 percent of world trade have joined the WTO, and its framework for trade has driven export-led growth and job creation.

As ministers from over 150 countries gathered last week in Abu Dhabi for the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), the importance of the WTO for global trade and growth was clear. The UK wants to see a WTO which works for everyone, including the developing countries which make up almost two-thirds of its membership.

As set out in last year’s International Development White Paper, the UK puts the interests of developing countries at the heart of its approach to the WTO. We are championing calls to extend lower tariffs and flexible rules for Least Developed Countries (LDC), as well as introduce new rules on investment facilitation that have the power to boost investment across the globe by at least $250 billion if implemented fully.

We have been arguing for an agreement that protects coastal communities and the fish on which they depend, as well as tackling food insecurity by removing harmful export restrictions. We have backed up this advocacy with financial support to enable all LDC governments to attend MC13.

Of course, the WTO rules will only deliver for development if we stick to them, and can challenge one another when we don’t. This requires a fully functioning Dispute Settlement System to ensure that smaller economies are not taken advantage of by bigger states engaging in unfair, unjust trading practices.

I’ve been impressed by the energy and commitment from negotiating teams, including Kenya, in the run-up to MC13. We now need to seize the opportunity before us to make the rules that bind us both stronger and fairer so that everyone can prosper – we go far when we go together.

The writer is UK Minister for Development and Africa.