World leaders have lauded Nigeria’s initiative that facilitated the first-ever global trade reform agreement, which has the potential to add $1 trillion to the global economy.

The agreement followed five-days of negotiations in Bali, Indonesia.

The outcome is an offshoot of the work done at the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Eighth Ministerial Conference in Geneva, where it was agreed that the WTO should end the fruitless years of negotiations and identify key elements of the Doha Round, where agreements could be reached with a view to delivering a package in those areas.

The world’s trade ministers said the “helpful” leadership of the Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga (who chaired the MC8), helped in the early resolution of the contending issues at the just concluded Ninth Ministerial Conference (MC9).

The Swiss delegation commended Nigeria’s leadership of the MC8, saying it helped in no small way to reach the MC9 consensus.

The delegation, which has invited Aganga to Davos in January, said members want to continue engagement with Aganga in view of the quality of leadership he displayed.

It said Aganga’s experience would help address many issues.

The 159 member countries of the WTO came to Bali for the MC9, knowing that it was either a deal was struck regarding the three packages on the table or the WTO will lose its integrity.

“For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered. This time, the entire membership came together. We have put the ‘world’ back in the World Trade Organisation,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo told exhausted ministers after the long but fruitful talks.

There were three main items in the package – trade facilitation (to streamline customs procedures and minimise unnecessary border delays, delivering jobs and opportunities in times of unemployment and slow growth); agriculture and development issues, which apply mainly to Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

On the whole, agreements were reached at the end, including the reaffirmation of the non-discrimination principle of Article V of GATT 1994; public stockholding for food security purposes; duty-free and quota-free market access for least developed countries, among others.