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WTO chief sees 'bumpy' road as ministers work to reach deals
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Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, left, and Timur Suleimenov, Chair of the 12th Ministerial Conference attend a press conference before the opening of the 12th Ministerial Conference at the headquarters of the World Trade Organization (WTO), in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, June 12, 2022. For the first time in 4 1/2 years, after a pandemic pause, government ministers from WTO countries will gather for four days starting Sunday to tackle issues like overfishing of the seas, COVID-19 vaccines for the developing world and food security. - photo by Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP
GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Trade Organization predicted a “bumpy and rocky" road as the trade body opened its highest-level meeting in 4-1/2 years Sunday, with issues like pandemic preparedness, food insecurity against the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine and overfishing of the world’s seas on the agenda. At a time when some experts question WTO's future and relevance, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala hopes the meeting involving more than 120 ministers from the organization's 164 member countries yields progress toward reducing inequality and ensuring fair and free trade. Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged the Geneva-based trade body needs reform, “The road will be bumpy and rocky.