"Indonesia continues to push for WTO reform, especially reform of the settlement system considering the WTO's central role in realizing a more inclusive and fair multilateral trading system amidst the increasingly dynamic global economic situation," said Zulkifli in a written statement received by Antara in Jakarta, Sunday (29/10/2023).
Zulkifli said that WTO reform began to be discussed in 2017 with a focus on efforts to improve the three main functions of the WTO: the functions of negotiation, monitoring, and transparency, as well as settlement. For Indonesia, said Zulkifli, the main priority on the WTO reform agenda is the re-functioning of the dispute resolution system in 2024, which is the mandate of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in 2022.
Other priorities include achieving a permanent solution to the Public Stockholding for Food Security negotiations and achieving a comprehensive fisheries subsidy agreement for Special and Differential Treatment issues, as well as the Overfishing and Overcapacity issues at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in 2024.
According to the minister, the multidimensional crisis is increasingly putting pressure on supply chains, especially those related to global food security.
"For this reason, the completion of negotiations on public stockholding and fisheries subsidies in the 13th KTM of the WTO next year is an important solution in overcoming food insecurity and increasing world food security," said Zulkifli.
