World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala announced that there is a strong consensus among WTO members to prioritize the repositioning and reform of the organization at the upcoming 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14). Speaking at a meeting of the WTO’s Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), in her capacity as Chair, she underscored the urgency of addressing the unprecedented disruptions currently impacting global trade.
“We are now in the midst of one of the largest disruptions in world trade in history,” stated Director-General Okonjo-Iweala. “With less than a year until MC14 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, we must proactively strategize to ensure its success, particularly in tackling the challenges arising from this trade crisis.”
The Director-General highlighted her recent consultations with members, which revealed a shared understanding of the need for a clear political message from MC14 reaffirming the WTO’s relevance and resilience in the face of global uncertainty. A central theme of these discussions was the imperative to prioritize substantial reforms across the WTO’s core functions, including monitoring and transparency, negotiations, and dispute settlement, alongside addressing inadequacies in the existing rulebook.
“The present disruption is seen as a vital opportunity to address the system’s weaknesses and reposition the WTO for the future,” Director-General Okonjo-Iweala emphasized. “We must not waste a crisis.”
To facilitate this reform agenda, the Director-General proposed a phased approach involving a facilitator-led scoping exercise before MC14, ministerial guidance on actionable steps at MC14, and post-MC14 implementation within dedicated workstreams. The aim is to present concrete outcomes for endorsement at the 15th Ministerial Conference or potentially earlier. Key areas for these workstreams could include dispute settlement reform, ensuring the dynamism and relevance of current WTO agreements, and developing future trade rules to meet evolving needs.
Director-General Okonjo-Iweala urged members to adopt a proactive stance: “Members need to consider not what the organization can do for us, but what we are willing to give up to reform the organization so it can survive and thrive.”
In addition to the overarching reform agenda, the Director-General noted other critical areas for MC14, including agriculture, the second phase of fisheries subsidies negotiations, the e-commerce work programme and moratorium, the incorporation of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement and the joint initiative e-commerce agreement into the WTO framework, and various development issues. A stocktaking of progress across these areas is scheduled for July, with a deadline of December for members to decide which negotiating issues are sufficiently mature for consideration at MC14.
Updates were also provided by the Chairs of various negotiating groups. Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain (Pakistan), Chair of the agriculture negotiations, acknowledged the critical importance of an agricultural outcome for the WTO’s credibility but noted persistent divergences in substantive positions. Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson (Iceland), Chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, outlined plans for upcoming meetings focused on the “second wave” of negotiations and the ratification of the existing agreement. Ambassador Kadra Hassan (Djibouti), Chair of the trade and development negotiations, called for increased flexibility to achieve meaningful outcomes. Chairs of the negotiations on wines and spirits, trade and environment, and services also provided updates on their respective areas.
General Council Chair Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel (Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of) reported on informal consultations, highlighting the challenging economic climate and its impact on the multilateral trading system. He emphasized the strong belief among members that the WTO remains a crucial cornerstone for collective responses to these challenges, viewing the current situation as an opportunity for the organization to reaffirm its relevance.
The WTO is committed to providing further updates on the progress towards MC14 in Yaoundé, scheduled to begin on 26 March 2026.
