At a high-level event marking the start of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and FIFA President Gianni Infantino unveiled the “Partenariat pour le Coton”. This new brand aims at strengthening the WTO-FIFA cotton partnership and supporting African countries’ participation in cotton value chains.
The United Arab Emirates’ Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, inaugurated the event. He expressed hope that the WTO-FIFA partnership on cotton would send a strong message about the importance of collaboration to tackle pressing issues.
Director-General Okonjo-Iweala stressed that cotton “goes to the heart of how trade is fundamentally about people”. She pointed out the lack of cotton processing activity within the region, with data showing “exports of cotton thread and t-shirts worth barely over USD 100,000 compared to around USD 800 million for exports of cotton lint in an average year.”
The WTO has accelerated work on helping to remove these obstacles, notably through the landmark initiative with FIFA launched in 2022. This initiative is a pivotal step in enabling cotton producers and manufacturers to tap into new markets, including in the sports apparel and garment industry.
The Director-General said the new brand – “Partenariat pour le Coton” – marks a new stage in partners’ efforts to boost the cotton sector. “It is our hope that this brand and logo will encourage others to join this partnership and start ramping up investment and value addition in the C-4, along with increased exports,” she said.
Supporting cotton transformation in West Africa goes beyond improving trade performance. It is most of all about improving economic opportunities and the lives of women and young people through promoting sustainable production and processing.
FIFA President Infantino highlighted FIFA’s commitment to leveraging the power of football to make a greater impact on people’s lives.
