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WTO Cancels Geneva Conference for the Second Time, Omicron is the reason

Public Lokpal
November 27, 2021

WTO Cancels Geneva Conference for the Second Time, Omicron is the reason


New Delhi: In the first international event casualty of the new coronavirus variant Omicron, the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva has been postponed indefinitely.

The MC12 was due to start on November 30 and continue until December 3. “But the announcement of travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in Switzerland and many other European countries led General Council Chair Amb Dacio Castillo (Honduras) to call an emergency meeting of all WTO members to inform them of the situation. Given these unfortunate developments and the uncertainty that they cause, we see no alternative but to propose to postpone the Ministerial Conference and reconvene it as soon as possible when conditions allow," Castillo told the General Council, as per a WTO statement.

This marks the second time that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced a postponement of the 12th Ministerial Conference. The meeting was originally due to take place in June 2020 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

“Further to the urgent Informal General Council meeting this evening, November 26, 2021, we would like to confirm that given the serious epidemiological situation, holding MC12 as previously agreed will regrettably no longer be feasible. We will reconvene it as soon as conditions allow,” the WTO has informed heads of all delegations.

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