Roberto Azevedo
Roberto Azevedo
Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdois a Brazilian diplomat and the current Director-General of the World Trade Organization. Azevêdo was elected to succeed Pascal Lamy as Director-General of the World Trade Organization in May 2013. He assumed office on 1 September 2013...
NationalityBrazilian
ProfessionDiplomat
Date of Birth3 October 1957
CountryBrazil
approach avoid benefits careful era global holds regional wider worldwide
In an era of global value chains, worldwide sourcing and the never-ending search for new markets, we must be careful to avoid the proliferation of regional standards. A multilateral approach holds wider benefits for more actors.
Each blockage is a blockage. Each impasse is an impasse. You have to find a solution; there is no recipe that fits each one of them.
general miss precise
At the WTO, it's never a general surgery. It's always a very specific, clinical, precise surgery - and you can't miss the target. If you miss the target, you kill the patient. It's as simple as that.
within work
We have to learn how to work within the limits that are possible, not what is desirable.
course interests job
My job is to prioritize multi-lateralism, and that of course interests Brazil, which is a global player. I'm representing 159 members, and one of them happens to be Brazil.
cannot raise roll sleeves work
We cannot look backwards. What we have to do is raise our heads, look forward, roll up our sleeves and work.
markets trade
Trade liberalization can be contagious, and the opening of markets regionally can spark progress multilaterally as well.
bring helps largest mood seen several sizes
I think what helps me is that delegations of all sizes - the small, the medium, the large, the largest - they all have seen me in action. They all have seen me unlocking blockages, unlocking impasses for several years now, and they all know that... I can bring a constructive mood to the table.