Commerce Secretary to meet WTO chief, Indian officials in Geneva

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal will meet the chief of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Geneva this week ahead of the ministerial meeting of the multi-lateral body next month in Cameroon, an official said. He will also meet ambassadors of other countries.

This will be first official engagement of the secretary in Geneva on WTO issues with his team and the WTO chief in Geneva after becoming a commerce secretary.

The meeting with the WTO Director General is important as the 14th ministerial conference is scheduled at Yaounde, Cameroon, from March 26-29 this year. The conference is the highest decision-making body of the 166-member body. “The secretary will be in Geneva on February 12 and 13. He will do stock taking exercise with his team on WTO issues,” the official said.

Besides monitoring global exports and imports, the Geneva-based multi-lateral body adjudicates trade disputes among member countries.