The Government of Canada is contributing CAD 250,000 (approximately CHF 160,000) to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) to help developing economies and least developed countries (LDCs) meet international food safety, animal and plant health standards for (...)
The WTO General Council, on 22 March 2024, noted consensus on a slate of names of chairpersons for WTO bodies. The General Council decided that consultations on a candidate for the Chair of the Committee on Trade in Services will continue under the leadership of the new General Council Chair, (...)
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the WTO welcome applications for the WIPO-WTO Executive Programme on Intellectual Property Issues for Senior Government Officials. The activity will take place from 3 to 14 June 2024. The application deadline is 10 April (...)
Speaking at the formal meeting of the WTO’s General Council on 21 March, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala commended members for concluding a package of 10 outcomes at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) and urged them to deliver results on the remaining issues as soon as (...)
Ministers formally approved the WTO membership terms of Comoros and Timor-Leste at a special ceremony held at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi on 26 February 2024. The respective governments said the ceremony marked a historic day for both least-developed countries (LDCs) (...)
Eight WTO members deposited their instruments of acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 26 February at the opening of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), putting the historic agreement for ocean sustainability on track for entry into force at record pace. Ministers of Brunei (...)
The 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) opened in Abu Dhabi on 26 February with a call to WTO members to seize the full potential of the multilateral trading system so that it delivers for the people it serves, accelerating the green transition and fostering socio-economic inclusion around (...)
At the 25 February meeting of the Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed high-level officials’ efforts and leadership to boost their actions to address climate change. The meeting of the coalition, which counts Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Morocco as (...)
The 12th China Round Table on WTO Accessions, held on 24-25 February in Abu Dhabi, focused on how trade and active participation in the WTO could be used to foster economic development and resilience, particularly for the Arab region. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted the (...)