WTO members moved closer to a text-based process to address the proposals put forward by delegations aimed at improving the international response to COVID-19 and achieving the common goal of providing global equitable access to vaccines and other medical products. At the formal meeting of the (...)
On 9 June, the Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, welcomed the Head of Government of Tunisia, H.E. Mr. Hichem Mechichi, to the WTO. Discussions focused on access to and production capacity for vaccines, challenges in the run up to the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, and the importance (...)
The WTO’s Technical Assistance Annual Report, released on 8 June, reveals how WTO capacity-building support continued to be provided to government officials from developing and least-developed countries in 2020 in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. The WTO’s programmes have helped beneficiaries to (...)
Marking World Ocean Day on 8 June, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, and Ambassador Santiago Wills of Colombia, chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, called on WTO members to deliver a long-awaited agreement to curb funding for harmful fishing. The opportunity to find (...)
Millions of people depend directly on the sea for their livelihoods and hundreds of millions more rely on them for food. Safeguarding the rights and conditions of seafarers has been part of the ILO’s work for more than 100 years. In June 2022, Member States adopted important amendments to the (...)
Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid to the WTO on 7 June. The two discussed the state of play of trade negotiations at the WTO, the challenges ahead of the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference and the importance of empowering women in (...)
A petition signed by over 2.7 million people from around the world calling for universal access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines was received by the WTO on 7 June. It was delivered by Avaaz, an online activist network, and the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a coalition of organizations. The petition (...)
The WTO has opened the accreditation process for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) wishing to attend the 12th Ministerial Conference, which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 30 November to 3 December 2021.
The heads of the world’s predominant global financing, health and trade agencies have united to urge government leaders to urgently finance a new $50 billion roadmap to accelerate the equitable distribution of health tools to help end the pandemic that has devastated lives and livelihoods for 18 (...)
The WTO on 31 May launched the WTO Gender Research Hub to enhance collaboration and exchange among trade and gender researchers. It will also serve as a platform for dialogue between researchers and the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender established at the WTO last (...)