The World Trade Organization (WTO) has recently opened the highest-level discussion in four and a half years to discuss issues like food insecurity, pandemic preparedness and overfishing of the world's seas as its agenda.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of WTO, said that she hopes that the meeting that involves more than 120 ministers from the group's 164 member nations, yields progress toward lowering inequality and enabling fair and free trade.

Okonjo-Iweala recognized the Geneva-based trade body reforms but also said she was thoughtfully optimistic about the deal reaching at least one of the significant ambitions like COVID vaccines or fisheries.

The road is going to be rocky and bumpy, she said, adding that there may be a few landmines on the way which need to be navigated, and the organization needs to see how it can successfully land one or two deliverables.

As per her opening address, she notified that negativism is heightened by the adverse advocacy of some think tanks and civil society groups in Geneva and other places where people assume that WTO is not working for the people. This is not at all true, she said, although the organization has not been able to demonstrate it.

She further cited several instances of the crisis faced by the world like the COVID-19 pandemic; environmental concerns like floods, droughts, and heat waves; and economic pressures that have been intensified by food shortages and higher fuel costs associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to sources, ministers at the meeting looked into considering the option of lifting or easing export restrictions on food to help countries that are facing a shortage as well as on fertilizers and other items due to the Ukraine war.

They also discussed increasing support for the UN’s World Food Program to help countries that are in need across the globe.

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