 The World Bank participated in the 5th Trade Ministerial with a small but high level delegation which included Managing Director Shengman Zhang, Vice Presidents Gobind Nankani (Poverty Reduction & Economic Management/PREM) and Ian Goldin (External Affairs), several members of its recently constituted Trade Department -- Uri Dadush (Director), Richard Newfarmer, Bernard Hoekman, and others -- and John Garrison of the Civil Society Team. While the Bank was at Cancun under an "observer organization" status, it did carry out several official activities such as a speech by Shengman Shengman in which he announced an enhanced trade capacity-building program geared to low-income countries, and the launch of the Global Economic Prospects 04. In addition, the World Bank team carried out a proactive civil society outreach program in Cancun which included hosting a dinner discussion and a breakfast briefing, speaking on CSO-sponsored panels, and attending numerous CSO events. The CSO Dinner was co-hosted by PREM VP Gobind Nankani and EXT VP Ian Goldin and included 12 key CSO leaders from throughout the World for an informal and frank discussion of trade issues and how they relate to poverty reduction. The CSO Breakfast was co-organized with Environmental Defense (who took responsibility for advertising and inviting participants) which brought together Uri Dadush, Richard Newfarmer, and other members of the Bank’s trade team and 22 CSO representatives staff to discuss trade issues as well as the latest twists in Cancun negotiations.
Bank staff also spoke at a half-a-dozen workshops organized by the International Federation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Henrich Boell Foundation, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). The Bank also provided funding, through the Small Grants Program, to the “Fair Trade Fair” organized by a host of fair trade and ecolabeling groups, and co-funded by the Swiss government, Ford Foundation, and other donors. Finally, Bank staff attended a variety of CSO events on such topics as food security, donor agency coherence policies, and civil society participation in the WTO. The Bank’s open and accessible posture towards CSOs in Cancun seemed to have been well received and produced several positive outcomes. The two outreach events, numerous speaking invitations, and other informal contacts allowed for frank and substantive exchange of views between senior Bank management and CSO leaders and closer alignment on the fair trade message. While many CSOs continued to voice strong opposition to what they perceive are the Bank’s neoliberal trade policies which harm poor countries, they also expressed appreciation for the Bank’s increasingly strong message against Northern trade protectionism as a sign of emerging common ground on trade issues. While the Bank, due to its multilateral mandate, cannot take sides on the jostling for position by the various trade blocks in Cancun, its messages recognizing the strengthened role of developing countries in the trade negotiations and the heightened emphasis on the harmful impact of agricultural subsidies found welcomed resonance among many CSOs in Cancun. As a result of these Bank-civil society contacts in Cancun, the Bank is considering several follow-up activities including a joint technical workshop on trade with leading CSOs. For more information on the Bank's views on the Cancun results and future activities in the trade area please see the statement by Uri Dadush.
As of September 2003 |
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