Nepal’s envoy to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ram Prasad Subedi has been elected chairperson of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Committee on Trade and Development (CTD).

Subedi was elected unopposed to the post by WTO members during the General Council meeting on Friday. He was recommended by WTO General Council Chair Athaliah Lesiba Molokomme.

Subedi is the first Nepali representative to be elected the chief of any Tier-one level body in the WTO since Nepal joined the intergovernmental organisation in 2004.

He will assume office from the second regular meeting of 2024 and serve for a year.

“Ambassador Subedi will take up his new role as the chairperson of the committee from the regular second meeting of 2024 to the regular first meeting of the year 2025,” read a statement by the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the UN in Geneva.

Subedi will have the opportunity to bring WTO members together to harness the trade and development opportunities within the framework of the Marrakesh Agreement, the release added.

Subedi’s appointment as the committee chair offers Nepal an opportunity not only to facilitate deliberation on trade and development among the WTO members but also to engage in dialogue with other stakeholders of the trade and investment field, including development partners.

Additionally, the role becomes instrumental in coordinating with all stakeholders in line with the Doha Action Plan to mobilise and mainstream the aid for trade for the benefit of Least Developed Countries (LDC), facilitate the discussions on the LDCs’ matters in other WTO bodies, and create a conducive environment for those LDCs on the path to graduate.

“This role is timely and befitting as Nepal prepares to graduate from LDC category in the year 2026,” the release said.