Pascal Lamy reappointed WTO director-general

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has re-appointment Pascal Lamy as its director-general. Lamy has been heading the multi-lateral agency since September 2005.

''The General Council agreed to reappoint director-general Pascal Lamy for a second term of four years as from 1 September. The unanimous decision followed Lamy's presentation on his vision for the WTO and a question-and-answer session held the day before," WTO said in a release.

French-born Lamy was chief negotiator for Europe as European Trade Commissioner before joining the WTO at Geneva. He has been associated with global trade negotiations for about ten years.

"We are living in a time of crisis. Its full impact is still to come and it will inevitably create political pressures. And it is precisely now when protectionist temptations abound that the value of the multilateral trading system is all the more apparent to us," he said in a presentation before the General Council yesterday.

''I remain convinced that the gradual opening of domestic markets to international trade, with justifiable exceptions or with adequate flexibilities, allows the achievement of sustainable development, raising people's welfare, reducing poverty, and fostering peace and stability,'' he said.

''The WTO, as a living organism, should continue to improve its capacity to rapidly react to global challenges, as we are seeing in the current crisis, and to contribute to devising solutions to those challenges. The reinforcement of the multilateral trading system, in particular through the conclusion of the Doha Round, should be our guiding light. In the constellation of global governance, let's work together to see the WTO star shining ever brighter.'' Lamy said in presenting to the General Council on his vision for the WTO for the next four years.

''Our main objective for the years to come, as I see it, is to strengthen the role of the WTO as the global trade body. This means making the WTO more development-friendly, more ''user-friendly'', so that its benefits are felt by all, large and small, rich and poor, strong and weak,'' he added.