Beyond the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the WTO: A Forward Looking Agenda for Development

The Eighth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, from 15 to 17 December 2011 offers a critical opportunity to generate fresh perspectives to strengthen the multilateral trading system and bring momentum back to trade talks in ways that secure development-friendly outcomes. Rather than being merely a routine exercise, the Ministerial Conference could be harnessed to take stock of where progress has been made and where it falls short on the developmentfront, and to clarify what remains to be done for the poorest, smallest and most vulnerable WTO Members. Failure to address adequately the interests of the WTO's poorest and most vulnerable member states not only damages the development prospects of these countries, but also presents clear risks for the credibility of the multilateral trading system