WTO Meet of June 2021 Shifted from Kazakhstan to End Nov in Geneva

The WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) will take place from 30 November to 3 December 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland, the chair of the organization’s General Council confirmed on 16 April.

In a communication to WTO members, Ambassador Dacio Castillo of Honduras noted that the General Council agreed at its meeting on 1 March to hold MC12 in Geneva the week of 29 November. As a follow-up, the chair indicated to members on 30 March the proposed dates of 30 November — 3 December for MC12. As no objections have been raised, the chair said he was pleased to confirm these dates for the meeting.

The Ministerial Conference, which is attended by trade ministers and other senior officials from the organization’s 164 members, is the highest decision-making body of the WTO. MC12 was originally scheduled to take place from 8 to 11 June 2020 in Kazakhstan's capital, Nur-Sultan, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MC12 will be chaired by Kazakhstan's Minister of Trade and Integration, Bakhyt Sultanov, as approved by WTO members in December 2019.

This will be the fourth time that the Ministerial Conference will be hosted by Geneva, where the headquarters of the WTO are located. Previous meetings took place in Geneva in 1998, 2009 and 2011.

Information on accreditation and other arrangements for MC12 will be made available on the WTO website in due course.