Title of the activity
Virtual WTO Agriculture Symposium
Activity Type
Virtual workshop - Global
Description
The WTO Agriculture Symposium is annual event designed to create space for a debate of the most topical issues in agricultural trade. The target audience is not only agricultural delegates and trade negotiators, but also civil society and the broader public. This year the event will go virtual due to COVID. This year the event has two additional purposes. It is a celebration of Agriculture @ 25 and a preparation of the WTO messaging for the UN Food Systems Summit of 2021 that has been convened by the UN Secretary General.
Herewith the message on the introductory flyer for the Symposium:
If we are to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, immediate and urgent action is required to transform how food is produced, transported, and consumed. Recognition of this need is growing, driven by serious concern regarding the continued prevalence of extreme forms of hunger across the globe, diet-related health effects, damage to ecosystem services, climate change and distress among millions of small-scale food producers.
The transformation of food systems will require an unprecedented degree of international cooperation given the globalized nature of our food system. The recently announced UN Food Systems Summit in 2021 will raise food system transformation to the highest level of political attention, affirming its centrality to the achievement of the majority of the SDGs.
The 2020 edition of the WTO Agricultural Symposium will explore the role of international agricultural trade in achieving this transformation. It will also assess and draw on the lessons learned from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural trade.
Exactly twenty-five years have transpired since the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) came into place, with the aim of establishing a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system. This makes the Symposium an important rendezvous for assessing past achievements and charting a new path forward.
Sending a message to the upcoming UN Food Systems Summit on the centrality of international agricultural trade to the achievement of the SDGs, the Symposium will take a critical look at the role of the multilateral trading system in achieving global food security, nutrition, and addressing the twin challenges of climate change and environmental sustainability.
Herewith the message on the introductory flyer for the Symposium:
If we are to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, immediate and urgent action is required to transform how food is produced, transported, and consumed. Recognition of this need is growing, driven by serious concern regarding the continued prevalence of extreme forms of hunger across the globe, diet-related health effects, damage to ecosystem services, climate change and distress among millions of small-scale food producers.
The transformation of food systems will require an unprecedented degree of international cooperation given the globalized nature of our food system. The recently announced UN Food Systems Summit in 2021 will raise food system transformation to the highest level of political attention, affirming its centrality to the achievement of the majority of the SDGs.
The 2020 edition of the WTO Agricultural Symposium will explore the role of international agricultural trade in achieving this transformation. It will also assess and draw on the lessons learned from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural trade.
Exactly twenty-five years have transpired since the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) came into place, with the aim of establishing a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system. This makes the Symposium an important rendezvous for assessing past achievements and charting a new path forward.
Sending a message to the upcoming UN Food Systems Summit on the centrality of international agricultural trade to the achievement of the SDGs, the Symposium will take a critical look at the role of the multilateral trading system in achieving global food security, nutrition, and addressing the twin challenges of climate change and environmental sustainability.
Venue
Switzerland
Trade topic
Agriculture
Start Date
End Date
Duration (days)
2
Target Audience
Government officials
Language
English
Key Result
1. Government officials are implementing WTO Agreements and fully realising Members' rights and obligations
Key Output
1.1: Government officials have enhanced knowledge about WTO Agreements, trade policy formulation and conduct of trade negotiations
Programme
Invited Members and Observers:
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain, Kingdom of
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia, Plurinational State of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Costa Rica
Côte dʼIvoire
Cuba
Curaçao
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Fiji
Gabon
Georgia
Ghana
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong, China
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jamaica
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Korea, Republic of
Kuwait, the State of
Kyrgyz Republic
Lao Peopleʼs Democratic Republic
Lebanese Republic
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Macao, China
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova, Republic of
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tomé and Principe
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Syrian Arab Republic
Chinese Taipei
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
The Gambia
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
Viet Nam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe