The 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) began its work yesterday in Geneva (Switzerland).
According to the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade (MIFT), the event, which takes place from June 12 to 15, is attended by trade ministers of WTO member countries and observer states, as well as heads of international organizations.
On June 12, the program hosted an opening ceremony and a plenary session during which topical issues of the multilateral trading system were discussed, including the fight against the consequences of coronavirus, the refusal to apply the provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the production of vaccines against various strains of COVID -19, the development of agriculture, the optimization of subsidies for fisheries, the reform of the WTO and others.
In his online speech during the conference, Deputy PM – Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov noted the important role of the WTO in combating the consequences of the coronavirus, resolving the food crisis, developing agriculture and strengthening the multilateral trading system.
The absolute priority of Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO as one of the main directions of the country’s foreign economic policy in the framework of the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026 was emphasized.
In addition, readiness was voiced to actively promote the process of Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO, including during the upcoming 5th meeting of the Working Group of the organization on June 21-22.
Also on the sidelines of the ministerial conference, under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan, a regular meeting of the Informal Group of countries joining the WTO (IGAG) at the level of heads of ministerial delegations was held. Topical issues of the acceding countries were discussed within its framework. There was a practical exchange of experience and views on the key problems and difficulties faced by the candidate countries in the process of negotiations on joining the organization.
The Ministerial Conference is the highest body of the WTO. Meetings of the Ministerial Conference are held in accordance with Article 4 of the “Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization” dated April 15, 1994, once every two years or more often. To date, 11 conferences have been held.
