Sierra Leone Trade Minister Calls for more Participation of Members in the g7+ Group

Geneva, Switzerland, 12 June 2022 - Sierra Leone's Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Edward Hinga Sandy and his delegation have participated in the second Ministerial meeting on g7+ in Geneva, Switzerland, since the inauguration of the group in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2017.

The essence of the g7+ WTO group is to foster the advancement of Trade and peace among members since the WTO helps to improve the acquainted with the multilateral trade rules and the international best practices in Trade.

He informed his gathering, to continue providing support to fellow acceding g7+ accessions endeavours towards expeditious conclusions of the accessions of the Union of the Comoros and Timor Leste.

Expressing his optimism, Minister Sandy commended g7+ WTO Accessions Group and the WTO secretariat for their great efforts in the furtherance of Trade and peace discussions. He added that Sierra Leone ' Minister of Planning and Development, Dr Kai Kai has been chairing the g7+, since the access to WTO needs effective participation which has become even more relevant for governments affected by fragility and conflict like Sierra Leone.

He went further to say the recent shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, have brought increased geopolitical tensions, food security concerns and stagnation of the Global economy and risks for governments.

"The g7+ accession cannot be more emphasized, as an important building block in respective post-conflict recovery plans. Special attention should continue to be given to this issue during MC12 and beyond," averred Dr Edward Hinga Sandy.

He reiterated that WTO accession is a process that fully coincides with the founding principles of 97+, noting that state building is a process that cuts across the establishment of credible economic and Trade Policy frameworks and institutions.

He concluded that members should support the proposal for membership in this Group to be expanded, and be ready to join and contribute to the work of the Group.

WTO is a UN-affiliated organization of 164 members. It has 3 main functions; Negotiate trade deals, monitor trade practices, and Settle disputes.

Stay tuned to our work at the MC12 by following us on Twitter @EmbassySierra #MC12, and visit our website https://missionsierraleone.ch/

*For more Enquiries:
Mohamed Sheriff
Information Attaché, Geneva, Switzerland
+41791756648
Email: m.sheriff@slmge.ch*