GENEVA – The General Council of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has agreed to postpone ministerial conference after an outbreak of a particularly transmissible strain of the Covid-19 virus, which led several governments to impose travel restrictions that would prevent many ministers from reaching Geneva, according to a statement by the organisation.
The 12th ministerial conference was due to start on November 30 and run until December 3, but the announcement of travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in Switzerland and many other European countries led General Council Chair Dacio Castillo 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.
“I trust that you will fully appreciate the seriousness of the situation”.
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