The head of the World Trade Organization has named Tarek Sultan, Vice Chairman of Agility, to a new 10-member Business Advisory Group created to share the views of businesses on trade and regulation.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, she created the group and a second Civil Society Advisory Group to strengthen her engagement with business and civil society.
“I have observed a strong desire to share perspectives on the impact of trade and trade rules on their constituents. By establishing the advisory groups, I aim to facilitate such exchanges more regularly,” she said.
Based in Geneva, the WTO has 164 member countries that account for 98% of global trade. The organization acts as a forum for multilateral trade negotiations, sets trade rules, provides technical assistance for developing countries, and handles trade disputes.
Sultan has been a forceful voice for free trade at the World Economic Forum and leading business organizations. He has urged the WTO and member countries to take steps to make trade fairer and more open for small businesses, women-led businesses, and emerging markets countries. In addition, he has called for faster digitization of customs and trade and criticized the wave of non-tariff trade barriers erected by various countries in recent years.
Agility is a leader in supply chain services, infrastructure and investment intended to facilitate and boost trade. It is a leading warehousing and industrial infrastructure developer in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. It provides customs modernization, digital logistics, e-commerce, and aviation services crucial to cross-border trade.
“I’m honoured to join the WTO Business Advisory Group and grateful for the chance to share my perspective with Director-General Okonjo-Iweala,” said Tarek Sultan, Vice Chairman of Agility. “Trade is essential to global growth and prosperity. In my view, we must act now to expand trade and ensure that its benefits are broadly shared and used to build a fairer, cleaner, safer world.”
In addition to Sultan, other members of the WTO Business Advisory Group are:
- Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Founder and Chairman, Coronation Capital Limited
- Thomas Cueni, Director General, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations
- John Denton, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce
- Prasoon Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, BillionBricks
- Josie Morris, Managing Director, WoolCool
- Paul Polman, Business leader, campaigner, and co-author of “Net Positive.”
- José Viñals, Group Chairman, Standard Chartered
- Diane Wang, Founder, Chairperson, CEO of DHgate Group
- Rosa Whitaker, President and CEO, The Whitaker Group