WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION's update

 

15 Jul 2022 Latest news

Dear maria CHADZIDAKIS VAVOURANAKIS, Below are the news items published today on the WTO public website

NEWS ITEM Heads of agencies call for urgent action to address global food security crisis A joint statement calling for urgent action to address the global food security crisis was issued by the heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Food Programme and the WTO on 15 July. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM DG Okonjo-Iweala underlines vital role of trade in addressing food crisis, inflation Cooperation on trade will be vital in tackling the current food insecurity crisis, and the WTO “is determined to be part of the solution,” Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers in Bali, Indonesia, on 15 July. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM E-commerce talks mark new phase in negotiations The co-convenors of the negotiations on e-commerce — Australia, Japan and Singapore — told the participants on 12-14 July that revised ways of working will be introduced to help the initiative build the spirit of compromise needed to achieve a “high-quality outcome”. The co-convenors said that they will be marking a new phase in the negotiations with three more rounds of in-person talks scheduled for the rest of this year to step up convergence efforts. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Working group on small business reflects on way forward post MC12 At a meeting of the Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), held on 15 July, WTO members reflected on which topics the group could explore further as part of its future workplan after the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12). The Group welcomed Tajikistan as a new participant, bringing the total number of WTO members taking part in the initiative to 94. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM National University of Lesotho launches activities under WTO Chairs Programme At a high-level event on 13 July, the National University of Lesotho (NUL) launched its activities under the WTO Chairs programme (WCP). Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang attended the event alongside representatives from the government, university authorities and business associations of Lesotho, the donor governments of France and Austria, and members of the WCP Network. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM High-level conference highlights synergies between Timor-Leste’s WTO and ASEAN accessions A high-level conference organized by the Government of Timor-Leste on 12 July looked at the current state of play of the country’s accessions to the WTO and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which President José Ramos-Horta deemed a national strategic priority to be achieved by 2023. The event, which also looked at the complementarities between WTO and ASEAN accessions in support of the country’s 2030 development goals, took place on the occasion of a visit of a WTO accessions team to Dili. News item