President Cyril Ramaphosa
Your Excellencies,
Heads of International Organisations,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I wish to thank Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the honour of addressing this important event.
The WTO Public Forum is a unique opportunity to hear a broad range of global voices on trade, development and human progress.
This is a particularly valuable platform as the global community confronts the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating effect it has had on lives, on health, on livelihoods and on society.
As we consider the WTO response to the pandemic, I am reminded of President Nelson Mandela’s address on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
In his remarks, President Mandela called for a WTO that recognises the frustrations of ordinary people.