CAIRO – The Egyptian government pays great attention to advancing the developmental objectives of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), by encouraging preferential treatment for developing countries in all WTO agreements, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty said.
This also involves developing technical support and capacity-building programs to support developing countries and ensure their effective engagement in international trade and global supply chains, Abdelatty added during a meeting with WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, held as part of the minister’s visit to Geneva on Monday. Congratulating the organization chief on her appointment to a second term as Director-General of the WTO, Abdelatty underscored the government’s full support for the organization’s goals as well as the principles of a fair and multilateral rules-based trade system. He also emphasized Cairo’s interest in trade as a key pillar of development.
During the meeting, Abdelatty also touched on Egypt’s relentless efforts to restore calm in the Middle East and prevent the region from plunging into an all-out war that could disrupt international trade and navigation. He also highlighted the severe damage Egypt incurred from escalating regional and international geopolitical tensions since the onset of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, which resulted in nearly a 70 percent drop in the Suez Canal revenues. Abdelatty also reiterated Egypt’s commitment to maintaining its active and constructive engagement in all WTO mechanisms to reach a consensus on the main issues under discussion, especially those related to reforming the organization’s dispute settlement system, the negotiations on reforming the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and promoting food security, and encouraging special and preferential treatment for developing countries. He expressed hope that this engagement would pave the way for coming up with tangible results on these issues during the WTO 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14), set for March 2026 in Cameroon.
