Roberto Azevedo Quotes

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.

– Roberto Azevedo

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.

– Roberto Azevedo

We have to learn how to work within the limits that are possible, not what is desirable.

– Roberto Azevedo

We cannot look backwards. What we have to do is raise our heads, look forward, roll up our sleeves and work.

– Roberto Azevedo

Trade liberalization can be contagious, and the opening of markets regionally can spark progress multilaterally as well.

– Roberto Azevedo

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.

– Roberto Azevedo

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.

– Roberto Azevedo

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.

– Roberto Azevedo