Last Updated Jun - 04 - 2025, 12:28 PM | Source : Fela News
WTO chief question India to support China-backed investment facilitation as global trade faces disruption and reforms are urgently needed.
As the global trade system faces increasing disruption, World Trade Organization (WTO) chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is up to India; to support a key reform effort: investment facilitation, a proposal backed by China and supported by most developing countries. During a meeting with India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, she emphasized the urgent need for cooperation and reforms, asking India to show leadership at the next major WTO meeting, known as MC14.
Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged that 90 out of 126 WTO members are in favor of moving forward with this investment facilitation proposal. However, India has so far opposed it, single-handedly blocking its inclusion as a plurilateral matter within the WTO framework. She stressed the importance of India opening the way for other developing nations by supporting this initiative, while also promising to address India’s specific concerns especially in the area of agriculture.
Speaking ahead of a mini-ministerial meeting of trade ministers, the WTO chief said that the current disruption in the multilateral trading system presents a rare opportunity. She believes it is the right time for WTO members to identify which parts of the system still work and should be preserved. Despite challenges, she pointed out that three-quarters of global trade in goods still takes place under WTO rules, using the Most-Favored Nation (MFN) condition.
By holding up investment facilitation and engaging in meaningful reform discourse, India has the chance to play a leading role in shaping the future of global trade. Okonjo-Iweala’s appeal stressed both the urgent need for reform and the value of cooperation in maintaining a stable and fair multilateral trading system.
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