President Of Kazakhstan, WTO Director General Discuss New Dates Of Ministerial Conference

NUR-SULTAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2021) SULTAN, November 30 (Sputnik) - The possible dates for the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was postponed due to the situation around the new coronavirus strain, Omicron, were discussed at the talks between Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Kazakh presidential press service said in a statement.

The event, which was to be held in Geneva from November 29 to December 3, was expected to be attended by about 4,000 people, including heads of state and about 220 ministers. The last WTO Ministerial Conference took place in Buenos Aires in 2017.

"During the conversation, the sides discussed prospects for cooperation between Kazakhstan and the World Trade Organization, including in the context of our country's chairmanship of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference. They also exchanged views on urgent issues of international trade development," the statement said.

Okonjo-Iweala expressed regret at the forced postponement of the Ministerial Conference due to the COVID situation, stressing that this was a very difficult decision.

"The meeting participants considered possible new dates for the event," the statement said.