Geneva/Brussels, 28 November 2014
Annual 2015 Session of the
Parliamentary Conference on the WTO
Dear Madam President,
Dear Mr. President,
Since 2002, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament have been
jointly leading the way in a process known as the
Parliamentary Conference on the
World Trade Organization
(WTO) - a permanent mechanism of parliamentary
oversight of this inter-governmental body, its de facto parliamentary dimension. The
principal objective of the Conference is to enhance external transparency of the WTO
and hold it accountable to legislators as elected representatives of the people.
We are pleased to inform you that the next session of the Parliamentary Conference
on the WTO will take place on
16 and 17 February 2015.
As in 2012, the session will
be held on
WTO premises,
Centre William Rappard in Geneva. Your parliament is
invited to send a delegation to this important event which will come at a moment when
the multilateral trading system is faced with new powerful challenges.
As on past occasions, the forthcoming session of the Parliamentary Conference on
the WTO is intended primarily for
parliamentarians who specialize in matters of
international trade
in their respective parliaments. The session will provide them
with an opportunity to obtain first-hand information on recent developments in the
Doha Round, interact with government negotiators and WTO officials, exchange views
and experiences with colleagues in other parliaments, and engage in a dialogue with
civil society representatives.
We very much hope that your parliament will participate in the forthcoming session of
the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO and look forward to receiving the names of
your delegates in due course.
Yours sincerely,
Saber Chowdhury
President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Martin Schulz
President of the European Parliament