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WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi concludes without significant results

The conference was scheduled to end on Thursday, but organizers postponed the final session several times as delegates failed to reach consensus on key issues related to the revision of global trade rules

ABU DHABI, March 2. /TASS/. The 13th regular ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ended on Saturday night after several days of negotiations without any significant results. The conference was scheduled to end on Thursday, but organizers postponed the final session several times as delegates failed to reach consensus on key issues related to the revision of global trade rules.

"During the long hours of negotiation here, we saw moments of difficult but rewarding cooperation as ministers overcame intense disagreement, engaged in tough discussions and found common ground. The beauty of the WTO is that each member has an equal voice, but that also comes at a cost," WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, commenting on the outcome of the conference at the closing session.

According to her, delegates achieved some important results and failed to complete others. According to the conference chairman, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, work on issues that could not be resolved in Abu Dhabi will continue in Geneva. "While we may not have accomplished everything we set out to achieve, we have delivered some much needed results and all other workstreams, efforts will continue in Geneva," the minister said at the end of the talks.

New members

An achievement of the 13th Ministerial Conference was the first formal accession of two new members in eight years, the Union of the Comoros and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, bringing the number of WTO members to 166. The accession of the island nations was approved on the first day of the meeting.

Appellate Body issue

As expected, the Abu Dhabi ministerial meeting failed to resolve a key systemic issue for the organization: the collapse of the Appellate Body. The dispute settlement platform has not been functioning since December 11, 2019, due to the expiration of the terms of the arbitrators. The appointment of new judges is being blocked by the United States, which has accused the Appellate Body in particular of violating established deadlines for considering appeals and has called for a fundamental reform of the dispute settlement mechanism. Under WTO rules, the appointment of arbitrators requires the consensus of all member states.

About Ministerial Conference

The Ministerial Conference is the WTO's highest decision-making body and is usually held every two years. The 13th Ministerial Conference opened on Monday in Abu Dhabi under the chairmanship of Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi. The Russian delegation to the conference was headed by Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov.

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