Okonjo-Iweala sees fisheries subsidies deal ratified before year's end

Watch Okonjo-Iweala sees fisheries subsidies deal ratified before year's end - Guardian Nigeria on Dailymotion

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00:00 [INAUDIBLE]

00:08 So what you have next is, for a perspective of economic planning,

00:13 since the second national development plan [INAUDIBLE]

00:16 the problem of how to spend it, and you are running to the balance of payment

00:21 prices, the AUSD and the CDG platform, where you have an exchange

00:27 that's still driven from a single commodity.

00:31 Should practitioners or stakeholders, especially from the developing

00:36 countries, in contemporary times we have many--

00:41 No, no, quite a lot.

00:43 And you follow the WTO also, from where you sit.

00:46 We have 71 countries that have ratified.

00:50 We need 110 in order for it to enter into force so that anyone,

00:55 any member that contravenes it can be brought by another member to say,

00:59 "Look what they've done," and there can be some repercussions.

01:02 Seventy-one.

01:03 This is like the fastest-going ratification we've seen.

01:07 Many WTO agreements take three-plus years.

01:11 We are 19 months, and we are at 71.

01:14 So I'm really pushing, and we are all pushing at the WTO,

01:18 to see whether we can get this ratified this year.

01:22 I'm asking people, "Let's do the ratification before my birthday in June."

01:26 [laughter]

01:28 Oh, that is good.

01:29 I didn't know that.

01:30 Okay, come on.

01:31 Oh, yes, he said so, yeah.

01:34 She's good.

01:35 When I say good, I mean that she's factual.

01:39 It's a good agreement.

01:41 There are so many developing countries that are members of this.

01:46 So I think they really want it, and as a result, that will give the momentum,

01:51 I think, to get it done.

01:53 I hope that the negotiations with South Africa and India will go well.

01:57 But the reason I'm hopeful--I'm not being unrealistic--the reason I'm hopeful

02:01 is because they opened the door.

02:03 [inaudible]

02:08 From objection, they opened the door.

02:10 So what I expect is that back in Geneva, the various ambassadors will now negotiate

02:16 with South Africa and India to try to move this forward.

02:20 So I'm hopeful.

02:22 It's an agreement that I think is supposed to save a billion dollars a year in costs

02:28 for developing countries, so it's a good thing.

02:31 [inaudible]