WTO chief asked for one or two deals, warned the road would be rocky
Geneva:
WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela on Sunday expressed cautious optimism that a meeting of more than 100 trade ministers in Geneva this week would secure one or two global deals, but warned the road there would be bumpy and rocky.
The Director General of Nigeria said that the world has changed since the last WTO Ministerial Conference nearly five years ago.
“I wish I could have asked for better. It has certainly become more complicated,” she told a news conference before the meeting, referring to the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and major food and energy crises as a “polycrisis”. Listed as pieces. ,
He urged trade ministers to go the extra mile in the coming days to reduce fishing subsidies, increase access to COVID-19 vaccines, address food security and set a course for WTO reform.
“Let me be clear, even a descent or two will not be an easy road. The road will be bumpy and rocky. There could be a landmine along the way,” Okonjo-Iwela said. The meeting will end with one or two deals.
He also cautioned ministers that they should not expect to achieve everything on their countries’ wish lists and acknowledge that a compromise is never perfect.