§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the current status of negotiations concerning the impact on developing countries of the planned Multilateral Agreement for Investment. [67506]
§ Clare ShortThe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced on 3 December that negotiations on the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) had ended.
Discussions are continuing in the World Trade Organisation on the links between trade and investment, including the case for possible new multilateral rules on investment. These discussions are still at an analytical stage. My Department is working with the WTO Secretariat and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to help ensure developing countries have the support necessary to participate actively in the discussions.