For Fiji and the Pacific, plastics are a threat to the ocean, to fish, and to tourism, and that this was a chance for the global trading community and the WTO, to be on the right side of history.
This was the sentiment shared by Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan, Fiji’s Permanent Representative to to the United Nations in Geneva during discussion attempts to coherently examine the role of trade and trade policies in supporting both domestic and international efforts in transitioning to more resource efficient and sustainable plastics economy.
According to the Fijian Government, this initiative by Fiji and China, is part of our ongoing efforts to protect our environment and oceans for sustainable development.
Co-chairing the meeting was the Ambassador of China, Ambassador Xiangchen Zhang.
Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan said that the WTO 12th Ministerial Conference, to be held in June this year in Kazakhstan, was an ideal opportunity to launch an initiative to save our environment from plastic pollution caused by environmentally unfriendly trade practices.
She said that the meeting was a result of the work of Dr Carolyn Birkbeck (pictured with Ambassador Khan) of the Graduate Institute of Geneva, the WTO, and China, and that she was very pleased that Fiji was leading the consultations with China.
A follow up meeting is planned for March, to coincide with the meeting of the WTO Committee on Trade and the Environment, with a planned event for the Ministerial Trade Conference in Kazakhstan in June.
Source: FIJIAN GOVERNMENT.
