London, Mar 31: UK International Trade Minister, Liz Truss, is expected to use a G7 ministerial virtual meeting on Wednesday to seek the group’s support to tackle global trading challenges and reform the World Trade Organization, the UK government said.
According to an official statement, Truss, who will be chairing the meeting, will also encourage her counterparts from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, as well as the newly-appointed WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to develop a set of principles for digital trade, underlining their common goals around open digital markets and the fight against protectionism.
“2021 is the year that we need to grip WTO reform: the organisation has fresh impetus under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, who has the resolve and energy to drive forward the reforms we need to global trade,” Truss said, as quoted in the statement.
She will also pledge that the post-Brexit UK is ready to work with other countries to ensure that trade helps pandemic recovery and to champion the cause of free and fair trade worldwide.
“People cannot believe in free trade if it is not fair. Public trust has been corroded by pernicious practices, from the use of forced labour to environmental degradation and the stealing of intellectual property,” Truss said.
The UK holds the rotating presidency of seven of the world’s richest economies in 2021, the same year the country left the European Union for good, following the 2016 Brexit referendum where 52 percent of the people voted for leaving the bloc.
The next G7 trade ministerial meeting is due to take place in-person in May, just one month ahead of the group’s summit scheduled for Cornwall, England, in June.
(AGENCIES)
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