At the G20 Ministerial Meeting, Lukita remarked that Indonesia had especially reiterated WTO's role and function along with supporting the institution's reform.
The trade minister pointed to the dispute settlement mechanism being the key focus and priority during this time as well as appointment of members of WTO's Appellate Body.
"We support the implementation of reform. We especially convey that if the members of WTO's Appellate Body are not appointed by this December, the WTO will become dysfunctional," Lukita remarked in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Indonesia perceives the WTO reform as paramount to restoring the multilateral trading system and WTO credibility.
The minister views that the mounting tension over the trade war between the United States and China had lowered trust among the G20 countries over the implementation of the multilateral system.
Hence, bolstering WTO's role through reform is deemed necessary, so that expectations of the existence of the institution do not further dwindle and endanger the conditions of global trade.
On an earlier occasion, Director General of International Trade Negotiations at the Trade Ministry Iman Pambagyo had remarked that the WTO's role in negotiations and supervision was far from optimal.
Furthermore, the dispute resolution process had not run properly owing to an impasse in appointing members to WTO's Appellate Body. WTO members should fill empty slots on the Appellate Body.
"The Appelate Body's members must be appointed without delay. If the empty slots remain until December, then the function of the dispute resolution system will come to an end," he emphasized.
In addition to reforming the WTO, Lukita elaborated that the G20 Forum had striven to allay the tension of trade wars that had the potential to hinder the performance of global trade.
"We should lessen tension since basically if it continues unabated, no country will benefit," the trade minister concluded.
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Mentari / Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
