12th WHO Ministerial Conference commenced in Geneva

The 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is taking place in Geneva (Switzerland) on June 12-15, where trade ministers of WTO member and observer states and heads of international organizations are expected to participate.

The opening ceremony and plenary session of the program were held on June 12, 2022. Current issues of the multilateral trading system, including the fight against the consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, the abandonment of the provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in the production of vaccines against various COVID-19 strains, agricultural development, optimization of fishery subsidies, reform of WTO activities and other issues were discussed.

In an online speech at the Ministerial Conference, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade S. Umurzakov stressed the paramount role of the WTO in combating the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, resolving the food crisis, developing agriculture and intensifying the multilateral trade system.

In the framework of the New Uzbekistan Development Strategy for 2022-2026, the absolute priority of Uzbekistan's membership in the WTO was emphasized as one of the main directions of Uzbekistan's foreign economic policy.

In addition, alacrity was expressed to actively promote the process of Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO, including at the 5th meeting of the Working Group of the Organization, which will be held on June 21-22 this year.

The Ministerial Conference also hosted a regular ministerial meeting of the heads of delegations of the Informal Group of the WTO (IGAG) chaired by Uzbekistan.