International Cooperation Under Strain
September 24, 2012
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy at 2012 Public Forum in Geneva. (WTO)
The World Trade Organization is holding its annual public forum in Geneva. Representatives from governments, NGOs, business and academia are debating whether international cooperation is suffering in these turbulent times.
The WTO is posing the question: Is multilateralism in crisis? One of the ways it’s defined is a group of countries working together on a particular issue, whether it be a trade pact, a voting bloc or a military alliance.
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy gave the 2012 Public Forum’s opening address.
“This year, like last year, has been marked by extraordinary turbulence, sluggish economic growth rates, high unemployment. Newly released figures on world trade that are just worrying. And in this slowdown no one has been spared,” he said.
Lamy said this year’s turmoil goes beyond economics.
“Like last year, political turbulence is rampant across the globe. Food prices are starting to rise once again, although not in the same alarming fashion. And the climate crisis is continuing to go unabated.”
The rise of emerging economies, he said, is bringing “new and stronger voices from the developing world” that are saying loud and clear “the rules of the multilateral system must change.”
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