Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, in his inaugural speech to the WTO General Council on 9 September 2013, said “my full priority will be to ensure that we have a successfully negotiated outcome in our 9th Ministerial Conference”. He said: “Time is short. Our work must start here and now. That’s why I will be commencing intensive consultations with members immediately, starting this week…This will be in a variety of formats and configurations at Ambassador level. We will focus on the three key areas of trade facilitation, development and some elements of agriculture. ”
We meet today at a crucial moment. I’m honoured to be speaking to you as your Director-General. As far as critical moments go, we have to figure out new ways of saying it. We’ve been saying we are at a critical moment, at a difficult juncture, on the brink — we have all those expressions that we have been using for a long time — every meeting that I go to, I try to figure out a different way of saying it, but at the end of the day, this is true. The world economy is in a very difficult moment, it is in flux. Many economies, particularly developed economies are still struggling to recover from the effects of the financial crisis. Other issues continue to emerge, and they keep changing the way that we do things, fundamentally shifting the landscape of the world economy. Meanwhile, the challenges of development are still huge. In these changing times, I believe that the role we play here in the WTO is even more important. The multilateral trading system remains the best defence against protectionism and the strongest force for growth, recovery and development.
Yet, as I take on this role, it is clear that the system is in trouble. Progress has stalled. I pledge that I will do all I can to rebuild trust and faith in this organisation and in the multilateral trading system. I will spare no efforts to restore our ability to deliver on that vital mission of supporting growth and development around the world. But this is not something I can do alone. We have options for the path ahead: I can suggest the direction, but we must choose our path together. The strength of the Organization is found in you. It is you that hold the wheel of the ship.
I have also met with the Secretariat to deliver a similar message. A message that recognises the prominence of the human factor and the power of teamwork. I assured them that I would work closely with them, including on various pressing issues of management. My work with them will not lose sight of the main objective which is to ensure that the WTO remains a centre of excellence, at the forefront of organisations servicing the international community. I will be an inclusive Director-General, working closely with everyone — from the Geneva representatives to ministers; from the secretariat to wider stakeholders, from the smallest to the largest delegations. I will also have transparency as a fundamental yardstick in all areas of work, also in administrative matters.