No. 14 / Monday January 22, 2001 / Page A-2 / ISSN 1523-567X / Regulation, Law & Economics
GENEVA--Members of the World Trade Organization are set to accept Qatar's offer to host the WTO's fourth ministerial meeting in its capital Doha later this year.
Representatives from key delegations such as the United States, the European Union, Japan, India and others met Jan. 19 with Kare Bryn, the Norwegian ambassador chairing the WTO's General Council, to discuss the venue for the next ministerial. No delegation opposed Qatar's offer to host the meeting, and the offer is expected to be formally accepted at a General Council meeting around Jan. 30, according to officials who took part in the meeting.
Qatar is the only WTO member to offer to host the next ministerial, which it first put forward at the WTO's third ministerial meeting in Seattle in late 1999. Chile said last month that it was seriously considering proposing Santiago as host, but Chile's WTO ambassador Alejandro Jara told BNA Jan. 18 that his government had decided not to proceed with an offer.
The officials said that Japan raised some concerns about Qatar's plans for hosting the meeting, in particular the number of accommodations to be made available for visiting delegations. Qatar told the WTO last October that it only had 2,800 hotel rooms available in Doha for delegates but later revised that figure to 4,400 rooms, noting that the additional accommodations "will be provided in terms of luxury villas and cruise ships."
Israel has also expressed no opposition to Doha as the venue for the next ministerial even though Qatar does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
An official with the Qatari mission in Geneva said the dates for the ministerial will probably be decided the week of Jan. 22. WTO Director-General Mike Moore is expected to meet with the emir of Qatar in Davos, Switzerland the week of Jan. 22 to confirm the organization's acceptance of the Qatari offer and discuss the details.
A visiting WTO delegation has given high marks to the proposed venue site in Doha, the Sheraton Doha Conference Center and the Qatar International Exhibition Center.
In addition, Qatar has agreed to provide a room in the Exhibition Center for 400-500 representatives from non-governmental organizations.
By Daniel Pruzin
Copyright c 2001 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C.:
