In his capacity as President of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Cameroon’s Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, spoke at the plenary session on “Strengthening Food Security through Trade” organized by the WTO in Geneva on Thursday, June 27, 2024. And as part of the 9th Global Review of Aid for Trade, he called for a real Marshall Plan for Food Security in Africa.
The Cameroonian Minister of Trade, after indicating that according to statistical forecasts, current agricultural production will have to be doubled to feed the world in 2050, invited WTO member states to show more commitment and political will to find a solution to the problem of food insecurity, because it is a problem for everyone.
Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana also noted that there is no point in calling for multilateralism if developing countries are not equipped with the means to enable them to feed the world and participate in international trade.
In concluding his speech, the Minister, paraphrasing former President Jacques Chirac, urged WTO Member States not to let the house burn before their eyes and to take urgent measures to save humanity in peril.
He expressed the hope that Yaoundé, which will host the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference, will become a new beginning and constitute a decisive step forward in achieving the major objectives of the WTO, which were the reason for its creation. In this case, these are the promotion of the development of States through trade and not the promotion of trade as an end in itself, and the transparency of agricultural markets through the adoption of clear, transparent and predictable rules.
The ultimate objective of this path is to ensure food security in the world and to protect humanity from all kinds of political, social and environmental dangers.
