China News Agency, Berlin, May 14 (Reporter Peng Dawei) World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Azevedo announced on the 14th that he will resign one year earlier than the original term until August 31 this year, so that member countries In preparing for the Twelfth Ministerial Conference in 2021, there is no distraction from the election of the Director-General. He emphasized that the WTO must ensure that the multilateral trading system responds to new economic realities from 2021, especially adapting to the recovery process in the "post-epidemic" phase.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the WTO is an important international organization that regulates global trade relations and order. Brazilian Azevedo has served as Director-General of the WTO since September 2013 and has been re-elected in 2017. His term of office would originally end on August 31, 2021.
Azevedo announced the above decision at the online meeting of all member countries held on the 14th. Azevedo said that his early termination of his term was not due to health reasons or seeking other public office, but that he hoped that member states could elect his successor in the next few months, so as to avoid decentralized preparations in 2021. The energy required for the twelfth ministerial meeting held in 2016.
Azevedo reviewed the achievements he made in his 7th year as WTO Director General. He expressed his belief that he contributed to maintaining the status of the WTO as a key pillar of global economic governance during the period when multilateral cooperation was challenged.
He also said that the WTO cannot stand still in the face of profound changes in the world around him. "Ensuring that the WTO can always respond to the needs and priorities of member countries is not an option, but a requirement. COVID-19 (New Coronary Pneumonia) The 'new normal' brought about by the epidemic must be reflected in our work. "
"We have set ambitious and transformative goals for the Twelfth Ministerial Conference and WTO reforms. It is now necessary to ensure that trade contributes to the recovery of the global economy from the epidemic." Azevedo said. (Finish)