Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah speaks at a plenary session on trade and sustainable development during the 13th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on Feb 26, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVT)

The multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its center, is the most important platform for taking forward international efforts on sustainability, Hong Kong’s commerce chief said on Monday at a WTO conference in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking at a session on trade and sustainable development at the 13th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference, Algernon Yau Ying-wah cited the WTO’s focus on integrating developing economies, especially small and vulnerable ones, into the multilateral trading system as key to improving the well-being of all.

Yau also hailed the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies for putting environmental sustainability at its core.

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Hong Kong, China looks forward to the early entry into force of this agreement, he added.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah (second left) holds a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabian Minister of Commerce Majid bin Abdullah Al Kassabi (second right) in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVT)

The secretary for commerce and economic development attended two plenary sessions at the conference on Monday.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau (first row, ninth left) poses for a photograph with officials from other countries and regions to mark the finalization of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement on the sidelines of the 13th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, on Feb 25, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVT)

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau (left) meets with UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi on the sidelines of the 13th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, on Feb 25, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVT)

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau (left) meets with the Minister of Commerce and Industries of Panama Dr Jorge Rivera Staff on the sidelines of the 13th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi on Feb 25, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVT)

On the sidelines of the conference, Yau held bilateral meetings on issues of mutual interest with Saudi Arabian Minister of Commerce Majid bin Abdullah Al Kassabi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, and Panama’s Minister of Commerce and Industries, Jorge Rivera Staff.

He also attended an event to mark the finalization of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement.

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The agreement enhances transparency and predictability on certain rules and is an important step in promoting investment flows. If successfully integrated into the WTO Agreement, it will be the first plurilateral agreement to be passed since the WTO’s establishment in 1995.