Enhancing the WTO's governance

Abstract

The WTO is a valuable and indispensable multilateral institution. Given the deep integration of our global village, the formidable level of international trade and commerce flowing across all national borders, and the need for a rules-based approach, if we did not already have the WTO, we would have to create one.

However, after an eighty-year history of building open trade and its accompanying institutions, we now face the challenge of protecting and promoting this inheritance. This includes further nurturing and strengthening the WTO, so that it can better reflect the different political and economic times we live in, address the sustainable development challenges we face, and support the new aspirations of our generation.

In fact, there is nothing more dangerous for any public, private, or multilateral institution, than trying to stand still or to go back to days gone by, particularly when the world is moving towards the future with accelerating speed.

Moreover, all good ideas for change need a process to feed into, if strengthening and renewal of the WTO is to be realized. This is a key missing piece in the puzzle of enhancing governance. WTO Members and Ministers must assume and lead such a process, so that together, we can advance and build upon the international trade legacy, and make it more sustainable for all peoples and nations.

Biography of the Speaker

Ambassador Sergio Marchi, a Canadian, is an active participant in the world of international affairs.

His professional life has spanned both the private and public sectors. Mr Marchi currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in Geneva. As well as acting as a Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission, headquartered in Geneva he also teaches at the US Webster University in the International Relations Department and at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Affairs in Geneva.
Prior to assuming his current and private sector responsibilities, Mr Marchi enjoyed a distinguished political and diplomatic career. He was first elected as a Toronto City Councillor in 1982. He then moved to the national level, where he was elected as a Member of the Canadian Parliament for 15 years. During his time in government, Mr Marchi served as a Federal Cabinet Minister in three different portfolios: Citizenship and Immigration, Environment, and International Trade. All three Ministerial portfolios carried an extensive global agenda.
In 1999, Mr Marchi was appointed as Canadian Ambassador to the World Trade Organization and the United Nations in Geneva, where he quickly established his leadership credentials by assuming a number of important posts, including being elected Chairman of the WTO General Council by the 150 Member countries.

Ambassador Marchi was subsequently nominated by the Canadian government and the UN Secretary General to serve as a Commissioner on the UN Global Commission on International Migration. He also served as President of the Canada China Business Council.
Mr Marchi is a member of several private, public and not-for-profit Boards, including the Shenzhen WTO Advisory Board in China. He is also active as a public speaker and writer. Ambassador Marchi is married and he and his wife have two children.