Egypt, as a Coordinator of the African Group for WTO Issues in Geneva, is hosting an informal African Ministerial meeting in Cairo during the period 27- 29 October 2009, to evaluate the position of the African countries in the Doha negotiations and to prepare for the 7th regular WTO Ministerial Conference which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from 30 November to 2 December 2009.      The Theme of the Ministerial meeting in Cairo is "Consolidating the Development Dimension"; its main objective is to maintain efforts aiming at maximizing the developmental opportunities both on the level of the DDA negotiations as well as with respect to the regular functions of the WTO.

     It is imperative at this juncture to engage in intra-African discussions regarding our priorities for the future work of the WTO, and to elaborate comprehensive positions on issues of common interest to our nations; issues which are quite likely to be raised and discussed within the organization in the near future.

     The meeting will also represent a further support to the African Groups' position in the Doha negotiations, which aims at ensuring that the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries remains an integral part of the different negotiating tracks. More specially achieving effective and substantive reductions in trade distorting domestic support especially on cotton, addressing adequately the problem of preference erosion both on the level of Agriculture and industrial products, calling for a meaningful market access commitments in sectors and Modes of supply that are of export interest to African countries.

     Although the 7th Regular WTO Ministerial Conference is not a negotiating forum for the DDA, it is expected that general issues relevant to the negotiations will be addressed at some level. This raises the necessity to assess the current situation and its future impact on African interests.

     Participants in Cairo meeting will be the Trade Ministers of the African countries members in the WTO as well as the African Countries with observer status to the WTO, International organizations, and African organizations. It is also expected that an interactive session will take place on the margins of African ministerial meeting, participants in this session will be Mr Pascal Lamy, the Director General of the WTO, and Trade Ministers from other countries leading the WTO negotiations such as USA, EU, Brazil, India, Japan, China, Mexico and Switzerland, as well as the African Trade Ministers.