(VOVWORLD) - WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Thursday presented countries with a series of draft trade agreements that includes pledges on health, reform, and food security, and called on member states to agree on this "unprecedented" package of trade agreements.
 WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Photo: Channels Television) |
The call was made at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva after disagreement between countries on key issues forced the trade body to extend negotiations by two days.
The package did not include two of the most important deals under consideration: fisheries and a partial waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 drugs.
The delegations said these arrangements could be added later.
Under WTO practices, all 164 members have to agree by consensus and a blockage on one topic can derail other negotiations.