An Introduction to the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration

The 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration laid out frameworks for improving trade within Africa and between Africa and the world. It's intent was to continue the development goals of the Doha Work Programme, which has been under development. The declaration addresses many aspects of trade and negotiations, including market access and rule-making for both agricultural and non-agricultural (NAMA) products. Particular areas highlighted in the declaration include: mutual support of both trade and care for the environment, TRIPS and public health, transfering technology to the third world, and the Aid for Trade initiative.

While the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and the Doha Negotiations have provided much discussion on trade with Africa, trade has not significantly improved. The question the World Trade Organization is now faced with is how best to assist Africa with trade, and what frameworks can be created and implemented for trade.

Hello delegates! I am the Chair of the World Trade Organization for HSMUN 2010. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself: I am currently in my first year of Law at the University of Alberta. I did my undergrad here at the U of A in Political Science. I love the Montreal Canadiens, snowboarding and cooking. I am the second oldest of four children and I am the proud owner of a 20 pound Siamese/Ragdoll cat named Franky.

I look forward to meeting you all in February. If you have any questions about the topics, conference, or University of Alberta in general, please do not hesitate to email me at brburton@ualberta.ca.

Furthermore, I have added a link to a very interesting site concerning the over-reliance on agricultural commodities in developing nations. Please ensure you start your research as soon as possible. That way, if you run into problems I will be able to help you before the conference commences.

Take care!

-Britt

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/007/y5419e/y5419e00.pdf

Welcome!

Hello delegates. Welcome to HSMUN! This year the WTO (World Trade Organization) will be addressing the following two topics:

(1) Furthering the Goals of the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration

(2) The Question of Economic Diversification in Agricultural-Commodity Dependent Developing States


Please try and start your research sooner rather than later. The more research you do, the better the debate. Try to ensure you closely follow your country's policies on these issues. If you have any questions we are more than happy to help you. If you have questions on topic 1 email Kristi at kristimeier10@yahoo.ca. For topic 2 email Britt at brburton@ualberta.ca. For general questions email Kristen at kpue@ualberta.ca.

Here are a couple of simple sites to get you started:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wto
http://www.wto.int/