REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUTA -- The chairman of inter-parliamentary cooperation of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), Surahman Hidayat, said the World Trade Organization (WTO) must consider aspects of food resilience and implications of free trade on traditional farmers.

"In particular, the DPR has also called on the WTO to eliminate various negative campaign activities on palm oil and its derivative products," he said after attending the Parliament Conference of the WTO here on Thursday.

The WTO has also been urged to open market access for palm oil in developed countries, because oil palm plantations in Indonesia have been developed traditionally and employs many workers.

In view of that, in the PCWTO from December 2 to 5, several discussion sessions have been held covering various themes, including multilateral trade negotiations post-Bali agenda, the possibility of the development of non-multilateral trade negotiations covering bilateral, regional and plural-lateral, the role of parliaments in supporting free trade policies and how aspects of trade could contribute to improving the people's welfare.

Surahman said, based on the results of the meeting and the discussions, several conclusions could be made to assure that the WTO would help improve the welfare of the people with its decisions.

"Competition and rivalry that emerge from free trade mechanisms must contribute to improving people's welfare," he said.

He also said the WTO must not be seen as an inter-governmental forum, but it must involve parliaments, adding that in several cases parliaments have even been left out of negotiations.

This is against the principles of democracy, as more support is needed in financial aspects, as well as information availability to increase parliaments' involvement in the decision-making process, he said.

He noted that the role played by parliaments is not merely accountability diplomacy, but parliaments must also be able to provide solutions and democracy in international trade systems, which must also be developed.

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