Global trade faces worst crisis In 80 years – WHO
Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has warned that the global trading system is undergoing its most severe disruption in eight decades.
She made the remarks on Thursday at the opening of the WTO ministerial conference in Yaounde, describing the current state of global trade as deeply unsettled and facing unprecedented challenges.
“The world order and the multilateral system we used to know has irrevocably changed.
“We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today, ” she said.
The conference, which has drawn trade ministers from the WTO’s 166 member states, comes amid deep divisions within the organisation, as countries grapple with economic instability fueled by ongoing global conflicts, particularly in the Middle East.
Over the course of the four-day meeting in Yaounde, member nations are expected to deliberate on ways to revitalise the WTO, which has been weakened by geopolitical tensions, stalled negotiations, and a growing wave of protectionist policies.
“The scale of the problems confronting the world today, even before the conflict in the Gulf, destabilised trade in energy, fertiliser and food,” Okonjo-Iweala noted.
She further highlighted that governments and international institutions are struggling to cope with a combination of rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying climate pressures, and rapid technological changes.
“National governments and international institutions alike have been struggling to navigate rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying climate pressures, and rapid technological change,” she said.
She added that these developments have also triggered increasing scepticism about multilateral cooperation.
According to the WTO chief, the disruptions in global trade are part of broader transformations affecting the international system established after World War II to prevent large-scale economic and political crises.
“It feels appropriate that at the moment when the world is in turmoil with conflict in the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, at this time of great disruption and uncertainty, we have gathered in Africa to discuss the road ahead for the global trading systemWTO ministerial conferences are typically held every two years, with this edition marking only the second time the high-level gathering has taken place in Africa, following the 2015 meeting in Nairobi.
