Implementation of the development assistance aspects of the
cotton-related dECISIONS in the 2004 july package and
paragraph 12 of the hong kong ministerial declaration

Report of the 40^th Round of the Director-General's
Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton^[1]
held on 7 NOVEMBER 2023

1  INTRODUCTION

1.1.  The 40^th round of the Director-General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC) took place on 7 November 2023 under the chairpersonship of Deputy Director‑General (DDG) Jean-Marie Paugam, on behalf of Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

1.2.  The meeting was held in a hybrid format (with in-person and virtual participation). It was attended by the Cotton-4 (C-4)^[2], other WTO Members, relevant partner organizations, private sector representatives, and key experts from the global cotton community.

1.3.  The Chair welcomed the participants and expressed his delight at hosting the 40^th round of the DGCFMC. He acknowledged the previous series of consultations on cotton development assistance and extended gratitude to those who travelled to attend, especially the focal points from the C-4 countries.

1.4.  The Chair also welcomed new participants, including the new Ambassadors of Chad and Mali to the WTO, and Mr. Eric Trachtenberg, the new Executive Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).

1.5.  The Chair provided an overview of the agenda, beginning with a discussion on the 2023 World Cotton Day (WCD) celebrations, hosted by the United Nations' Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) at its Headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on 4 October 2023.

1.6.  He noted the success of these celebrations and that the Director General of the WTO had participated in person in the event and emphasised the importance of Members' engagement in the work on cotton carried out at the WTO, under both trade and development tracks.

1.7.  He mentioned that, in the upcoming weeks, Members would have had an opportunity to discuss and define the priorities for cotton that they would like to be adopted at the WTO's 13^th Ministerial Conference.

1.8.  He then moved to the agenda of the day, and noted that the meeting included a discussion on Jassids pest control measures, and an update on the commitment at the Partners' Conference in July 2022 made by the African Bank for Exports and Imports (Afreximbank) to provide up to USD 300,000 as grant-matching funds to support the preparation of cotton value chain development projects in African countries in 2023 and 2024.

1.9.  The Chair moved to the adoption of the agenda and opened the floor for comments and suggestions to it. There being no requests for the floor, the agenda was adopted.

1.10.  The Chair reminded Members about a webinar in French on the use of the cotton portal, developed by the WTO Secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC) in cooperation with ICAC, to be held at 2 pm, in the same room, after the DGCFMC meeting.

1.11.  The Chair requested that all statements and PowerPoint presentations be included in the meeting minutes and made available on the WTO webpage and invited the C-4 coordinator to make their statement.