I am in Geneva. The 12th WTO Ministerial Conference under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan has started here today, Delovoy Kazakhstan reports.
To say that the event is long-awaited is to say nothing. The conference was scheduled for 2020, but was repeatedly moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November last year, it was canceled literally at the last moment due to an outbreak of omicron. And now, finally, everyone is assembled. The 164 members of the World Trade Organization will discuss international trade issues until June 15.
In addition to the issues of the current difficult situation, systemic problems are on the agenda. Of course, we will talk about the trade in agricultural products in conditions of rising prices and about the food crisis in general. Discussions are planned on an agreement to ban subsidies to fishing in order to avoid depletion of fish stocks, measures to stimulate agriculture and WTO reform.
This meeting may become a key one for international trade in the near future. The Ministerial Conference is the highest body of the WTO, and there are a lot of problems in world trade.
