Legislature
Food Security: Kalu Pushes WTO for Permanent Solution
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Benjamin Kalu, has called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to deliver concrete outcomes on food security and investment facilitation.
Dr. Kalu made the call in Geneva, Switzerland, at the 57th Session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, where he expressed concern over the failure to reach a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security, 13 years after the 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference.
According to him, Nigeria has co-sponsored the demand by the African Group, the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group, and the G33 for a permanent solution, while proposing a waiver in the Marrakesh Agreement as an interim measure.
The Deputy Speaker also raised concerns over the stalled Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, calling for greater accountability by national parliaments in advancing WTO outcomes.
He proposed that future sessions focus on key trade issues, including public stockholding, investment facilitation, e-commerce and digital trade rules, to enable parliamentarians to communicate clear positions to trade ministers ahead of negotiations.
Responding, the WTO Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the consensus system had allowed single objections to block broadly supported outcomes, while advocating deeper engagement between parliamentarians and WTO actors.
