WTO holds first Ministerial meeting in four years

November 30, 2009 09:29 am | Updated November 17, 2021 06:36 am IST - Geneva

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma reacts during a press conference after a Ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 (G20), in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday. The 7th three-day Ministerial Conference of the WTO beigins here today. Photo: AP

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma reacts during a press conference after a Ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 (G20), in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday. The 7th three-day Ministerial Conference of the WTO beigins here today. Photo: AP

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) begins its first ministerial meeting in four years Monday aimed at reviewing the work of the 153-member group.

While trade negotiations are not on the agenda of the three-day gathering in Geneva, the stalled global trade round is likely to play a major role, following a call by world leaders for an agreement on the issue by the end of 2010.

Instead of considering a trade deal, WTO chief Pascal Lamy sees the meeting as providing “a platform for ministers to review the functioning of this house”.

Security barriers have been erected around the conference venue and police reinforcements have been called in from other parts of Switzerland amid concerns about demonstrators attempting to disrupt the meeting.

An anti-capitalist protest in Geneva Saturday erupted into violence, with cars set alight and shop windows smashed.

The meeting in Switzerland comes a decade after a WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle aimed at driving forward global free trade was engulfed by violent protests.

This week’s conference is being held amid signs that global trade is recovering from its biggest contraction since the Great Depression.

The WTO member states represent about 95 percent of total global trade. Ministers last met 2005 in Hong Kong. A gathering scheduled for 2007 was postponed because of lack of progress on the trade round launched in Doha in 2001.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.