Apart from officials and representatives of member countries and observer countries, the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference will be the first to house the centre for the non-governmental organization (NGOs) under the same roof as the conference proper. The NGOs representatives will be approved by registration to attend the Conference.
WTO officials Pascal Lamy, Director-General of WTO Alejandro Jara, Deputy Director-General of WTO Valentine Rugwabiza, Deputy Director-General of WTO Harsha Vardhana Singh, Deputy Director-General of WTO Rufus Yerxa, Deputy Director-General of WTO]
International officials Peter Mandelson, Commissioner of the European Union for Trade Issues Mariann Fischer Boel, EU Agriculture Commissioner Margaret Beckett, British Farm Minister Christine Lagarde, France's Trade Minister
Hong Kong officials Donald Tsang (曾蔭權), Chief Executive John Tsang (曾俊華), Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Ambrose Lee (李少光), Secretary for Security Raymond Young (楊立門), Director-General of Trade and Industry Dick Lee (李明逵), Commissioner of Police Anthony Lam (林振敏), Director of Fire Services
NGO leaders The General Council has further clarified the framework for relations with the NGOs by adopting a set of guidelines on 18 July 1996, which "recognizes the role NGOs can play to increase the awareness of the public in respect of WTO activities". On 26 May 2005, the General Council agreed on approving the attendance of Non-Governmental Organizations at the Sixth Session of the Ministerial Conference under the following registration procedures: NGOs would be allowed to attend only the Plenary Sessions of the Conference (without the right to speak); Applications from NGOs to be registered would be accepted on the basis of Article V, paragraph 2 of the WTO Agreement, i.e. NGOs "concerned with matters related to those of the WTO"; and The registration of NGOs that wish to attend the Conference should be made on or before m29 July 2005.
NGOs Eligible for the conference:
International NGO leaders Anil Singh, NEED India CUTS International Greenpeace International Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives
Hong Kong NGO leaders Elizabeth Tang (鄧燕娥), Chairperson of Hong Kong People's Alliance on WTO Lau Chin Shek (劉千石), President of Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions Lee Cheuk Yan (李卓仁), General Secretary of Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions Albert Lai (黎廣德), Chairman of the Hong Kong People's Council for Sustainable Development Dolores Ballabares, Chairperson of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong Tse Kam Keung (謝錦強), Chairperson of Oxfam Hong Kong Council Emily Chan (陳英凝), President of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Hong Kong Global Network (全球聯陣──勞工基層大聯盟)
WTO members Developing countries make up about three quarters of the total WTO membership. Together with countries currently in the process of "transition" to market-based economies, they play an increasingly important role in the WTO. Albania Antigua and Barbuda Argentina - Alberto Fernández, President Armenia Australia - Scott Morrison, Prime Minister Austria Bahrain - Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister Barbados Belgium Belize Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Bolivia Botswana Brazil - Jair Bolsonaro, President Brunei Darussalam - Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan Bulgaria Cameroon Canada - Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Chile - Sebastian Piñera, President China - Li Keqiang, Premier Colombia Congo Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Estonia European Communities Fiji Finland France - Emmanuel Macron, President Gabon Georgia Germany - Angela Merkel, Chancellor Ghana Greece - Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister Grenada Guatemala Guyana Honduras Hong Kong, China Hungary Iceland India - Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Indonesia - Joko Widodo, President Ireland Israel Italy - Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister Jamaica Japan - Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister Jordan Kenya Kuwait Kyrgyz Republic Laos - Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia, provisionally referred to by the WTO as the "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" Macao, China Malaysia - Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister Malta Mauritius Mexico - Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President Moldova Mongolia Morocco Namibia Netherlands - Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister New Zealand - Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister Nicaragua Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan - Imran Khan, Prime Minister Panama Papua New Guinea - James Marape, Prime Minister Paraguay Peru - Martín Vizcarra, President Philippines - Rodrigo Duterte, President Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia - Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saudi Arabia - Mohammad bin Salman, Crown Prince Singapore - Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister Slovak Republic Slovenia South Africa - Cyril Ramaphosa, President South Korea - Moon Jae-in, President Spain - Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister Sri Lanka - Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland - Ulrich Maurer, President Chinese Taipei Thailand - Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President Ukraine - Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President United Arab Emirates - Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister United Kingdom - Boris Johnson, Prime Minister United States - Donald Trump, President Uruguay Vietnam - Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Prime Minister Zimbabwe
The Least-Developed Countries(LDCs) The WTO regards the least-developed countries (LDCs)as countries which have been designated as such by the United Nations. There are currently 50 the least-developed countries on the UN list, 32 of which to date have become WTO members.
These are: Angola Bangladesh - Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister Benin Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia - Hun Sen, Prime Minister Central African Republic Chad Congo, Democratic Republic of the Djibouti Gambia Guinea Guinea Bissau Haiti Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Maldives Mali Mauritania Mozambique Myanmar - Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counselor Nepal Niger Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone Solomon Islands Tanzania Togo Uganda Vietnam Zambia
There are no WTO definitions of "developed" or "developing" countries. Developing countries in the WTO are designated on the basis of self-selection although this is not necessarily automatically accepted in all WTO bodies.
Observer governments With the exception of the Holy See, observers must start accession negotiations within five years of becoming observers. Afghanistan Algeria Andorra Azerbaijan Bahamas Belarus Bhutan Bosnia and Herzegovina Cape Verde Ethiopia Holy See (Vatican) Iran Iraq Kazakhstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Lebanese Republic Libya Montenegro Russian Federation Samoa Serbia Seychelles Sudan Tajikistan Tonga Ukraine Uzbekistan Vanuatu Yemen
The Least-Developed Countries Equatorial Guinea São Tomé and Príncipe
External links The Hong Kong People's Council for Sustainable Development Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) Hong Kong