Today kicks off the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference, taking place in Bali from December 3-6. As a sideline event, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) will host the Bali Trade & Development Symposium . The event will provide an opportunity for a wide range of stakeholders, from policymakers to businesses to NGOs, to discuss key challenges facing the global trade system and the sustainable development agenda. The themes of this year's symposium will be the environment and natural resources; international trade governance and sustainable development; and trade and economic development.
On December 4, IFPRI researchers will lead a session on "Food and Energy Security in the 21st Century: Why Trade Policies Will Be Critical to Achieve a Coherent Policy Framework." Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla and David Laborde will discuss similarities between the food and energy sectors, as well as whether the current WTO framework is adapted to meet 21st century food and energy challenges. The session will focus on the different drivers of food and energy security, how trade can fill the gaps in domestic demand and supply, and what reforms are needed to promote international cooperation and proper policies to protect food and energy security in the future.
For more information on the relationship between trade and food security, read Food Security: What's Trade Got to Do with It? Part I and Part II. You can follow the entire discussion leading up to the Bali Ministerial on our Road to Bali homepage feature and track ICTSD's daily WTO updates.