Kenya wins bid to host 10th WTO Conference

Kenya has won the bid to host the forthcoming 10th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference scheduled for December, 2015.

Member countries of the WTO unanimously made the decision following intense lobbying by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade led by Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed. Turkey, which was also competing to host the Conference, withdrew her bid in favour of Kenya. In a letter to the Chairman of the General Council of WTO, the Turkish Government said it stepped down in favour of Kenya following consultations with Mohamed. Kenya’s relationship with WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) has been cordial and well acknowledged in the multilateral trading system. Kenya became a contracting party to the GATT in 1963 upon attaining independence and is a founder member of the WTO. Kenya has been actively engaging with the WTO members on trade negotiations on various topics in Geneva and in the previous ministerial conferences that have taken place since the establishment of WTO.