<p>Ministers at the World Trade Organization(WTO) worked deep into the night on Thursday to reach a deal as news wire Reuters reported that members had reached an initial deal while winning over India.</p>

<p>The ministers have been negotiating in Geneva for the first time since 2017 when the conference collapsed in Buenos Aires.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/wto-provisionally-agrees-to-extend-e-commerce-tariff-moratorium-sources-488891">Also Read:&nbsp;WTO provisionally agrees to extend e-commerce tariff moratorium: Sources</a></p>

<p>WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reportedly presented draft trade agreements on Friday but it did not include fisheries and partial waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, reports said.</p>

<p><strong>Watch:&nbsp;India fights for fishery subsidies at WTO meeting</strong></p>

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<p>The delegates are set to meet again on Friday to add them later even as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala claimed the package was "unprecedented" while calling upon countries to accept the deal which included food security, health among others.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said: "India is convinced that this will turn out to be one of the most successful ministerials that the WTO has seen in a long time," while adding, "We are very confident that the progress made and the positivity with which everybody is engaged truly is a matter of celebration for the world."</p>

<p>"We have taken some solid decisions, subject to a few issues being sorted out," India's minister added. Major areas under negotiation include waiver of coronavirus patents, food security, fishing subsidies, agriculture, e-commerce and others.</p>

<p>The negotiations went past the Thursday night deadline as countries continue to haggle over various issues.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"India is not a roadblock on anything," India's minister said over the contentious fishing deal.</p>

<p>"People are realising that we were the ones who actually helped create the sole consensus," the minister added.</p>

<p>The delegates also discussed the possibility of waver of virus patents with Britain's ambassador in Geneva, Simon Manley indicating that his country was ready for a consensus.</p>

<p>The global trade body comprising 164 members added an extra fifth day to cobble a compromise deal with delegates keen on trade-offs over a broad spectrum of issues.</p>

<p>(With inputs from Agencies)</p>

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Ministers at the World Trade Organization(WTO) worked deep into the night on Thursday to reach a deal as news wire Reuters reported that members had reached an initial deal while winning over India.

Ministers at the World Trade Organization(WTO) worked deep into the night on Thursday to reach a deal as news wire Reuters reported that members had reached an initial deal while winning over India. The ministers have been negotiating in Geneva for the first time since 2017 when the conference collapsed in Buenos Aires. Also Read: WTO provisionally agrees to extend e-commerce tariff moratorium: Sources WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reportedly presented draft trade agreements on Friday but it did not include fisheries and partial waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, reports said. Watch: India fights for fishery subsidies at WTO meeting The delegates are set to meet again on Friday to add them later even as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala claimed the package was "unprecedented" while calling upon countries to accept the deal which included food security, health among others. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said: "India is convinced that this will turn out to be one of the most successful ministerials that the WTO has seen in a long time," while adding, "We are very confident that the progress made and the positivity with which everybody is engaged truly is a matter of celebration for the world." "We have taken some solid decisions, subject to a few issues being sorted out," India's minister added. Major areas under negotiation include waiver of coronavirus patents, food security, fishing subsidies, agriculture, e-commerce and others. The negotiations went past the Thursday night deadline as countries continue to haggle over various issues. "India is not a roadblock on anything," India's minister said over the contentious fishing deal. "People are realising that we were the ones who actually helped create the sole consensus," the minister added. The delegates also discussed the possibility of waver of virus patents with Britain's ambassador in Geneva, Simon Manley indicating that his country was ready for a consensus. The global trade body comprising 164 members added an extra fifth day to cobble a compromise deal with delegates keen on trade-offs over a broad spectrum of issues. (With inputs from Agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

WTO eyes initial deal as negotiations continue deep into the night

<p>The World Trade Organization announced Thursday&nbsp;Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea's Yoo Myung-hee are the finalists to become its next director-general, ensuring a woman in the top job for the first time.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">These are the candidates moving on for members' further consideration. The result creates an historic precedent for the WTO: the 7th Director-General will become the first woman to lead the Organization. Consultations resume on 19 Oct <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WTODG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WTODG</a><br />
Find out more: <a href="https://t.co/q4pHXjEl2z">https://t.co/q4pHXjEl2z</a> <a href="https://t.co/l4viBOncSk">pic.twitter.com/l4viBOncSk</a></p>
— WTO (@wto) <a href="https://twitter.com/wto/status/1314152398420684803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>WTO spokeman, Keith Rockwell said the third and final stage of the run will take place from October 19 to Ocotber 27 and that a decision should be made by November 7.</p>

<p>We're right on schedule for this. We might even be a little bit ahead of schedule," he said.</p>

<p>Asked about changes that might occur as US presidential elections will take place four days before the deadline for the decision, Rockwell said: "I don't think the domestic political situation of any country has really entered into this at all, as far as I can tell".</p>

<p>A selection committee said that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria and Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea qualified for the final round in a race expected to end in the coming weeks. They were picked out of a pool of five candidates.</p>

<p>The Geneva-based WTO's General Council, made up of envoys from the 164-member body, eliminated Amina Mohamed, a former trade minister from Kenya; Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri, a Saudi former economy minister, and British former International Trade Secretary and Brexit proponent Liam Fox.</p>

<p>''Deeply grateful and honored to be selected for the final round in the selection process of the next @WTO Director General!''&nbsp;tweeted Yoo, who has a law degree from Vanderbilt University.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Deeply grateful and honored to be selected for the final round in the selection process of the next <a href="https://twitter.com/wto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WTO</a> Director General!<br />
<br />
We need a capable &amp; experienced new leader who can rebuild trust and restore relevance of the <a href="https://twitter.com/wto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WTO</a>. I look forward to your continued support! Thank you!!! <a href="https://t.co/Gz94jTzgzB">https://t.co/Gz94jTzgzB</a></p>
— Yoo Myung-hee (@YooMyunghee1) <a href="https://twitter.com/YooMyunghee1/status/1314161822992228352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>Okonjo-Iweala on Twitter thanked WTO members for their support and wrote that she was ''happy to be in the final round."&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Happy to be in the final round of the <a href="https://twitter.com/wto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wto</a> DG campaign. Thanks, WTO members for your continued support of my candidacy. I could not have made it without the prayers and support of all Nigerians and friends around the world. Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/MBuhari?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MBuhari</a> and all my friends. Aluta continua!</p>
— Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (@NOIweala) <a href="https://twitter.com/NOIweala/status/1314189379594842118?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>The previous WTO director-general, Roberto Azevedo of Brazil, made a surprise announcement in May that he would leave the job a year early, citing a ''personal decision''.&nbsp;He left without a successor on August 31.</p>

<p>Azevedo's seven-year tenure was marked by intense pressure from US&nbsp;President Donald Trump, who repeatedly accused the WTO of ''unfair''&nbsp;treatment of the U.S. And started a trade war with China in defiance of the WTO system. In the past, Trump has threatened to pull the United States out of the trade body altogether.</p>

<p>The WTO's dispute settlement system is perhaps the world's best-known venue for resolving international trade disputes - such as those pitting plane-makers Boeing and Airbus in recent decades. But the United States has clogged up the dispute settlement machinery by blocking any new members for its highest court, the Appellate Body, which has unable to address new disputes since last year.</p>

<p>The next director-general will face the daunting task of keeping the United States on board if Trump wins a second term, amid Washington's allegations that China is engaged in unfair practices such as excessively subsidizing industries and stealing intellectual property,&nbsp;notably at the expense of Western businesses hoping to tap the expanding Chinese market. China rejects the allegations.</p>

<p>The WTO, which was created in 1995 out of the former General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, has never had a woman director-general or national from Africa as its leader. It operates by consensus, meaning that any single member country can block decisions.</p>


The World Trade Organization announced Thursday Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea's Yoo Myung-hee are the finalists to become its next director-general, ensuring a woman in the top job for the first time.

The World Trade Organization announced Thursday Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea's Yoo Myung-hee are the finalists to become its next director-general, ensuring a woman in the top job for the first time. These are the candidates moving on for members' further consideration. The result creates an historic precedent for the WTO: the 7th Director-General will become the first woman to lead the Organization. Consultations resume on 19 Oct #WTODG Find out more: https://t.co/q4pHXjEl2z pic.twitter.com/l4viBOncSk — WTO (@wto) October 8, 2020 × WTO spokeman, Keith Rockwell said the third and final stage of the run will take place from October 19 to Ocotber 27 and that a decision should be made by November 7. We're right on schedule for this. We might even be a little bit ahead of schedule," he said. Asked about changes that might occur as US presidential elections will take place four days before the deadline for the decision, Rockwell said: "I don't think the domestic political situation of any country has really entered into this at all, as far as I can tell". A selection committee said that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria and Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea qualified for the final round in a race expected to end in the coming weeks. They were picked out of a pool of five candidates. The Geneva-based WTO's General Council, made up of envoys from the 164-member body, eliminated Amina Mohamed, a former trade minister from Kenya; Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri, a Saudi former economy minister, and British former International Trade Secretary and Brexit proponent Liam Fox. ''Deeply grateful and honored to be selected for the final round in the selection process of the next @WTO Director General!'' tweeted Yoo, who has a law degree from Vanderbilt University. Deeply grateful and honored to be selected for the final round in the selection process of the next @WTO Director General! We need a capable & experienced new leader who can rebuild trust and restore relevance of the @WTO. I look forward to your continued support! Thank you!!! https://t.co/Gz94jTzgzB — Yoo Myung-hee (@YooMyunghee1) October 8, 2020 × Okonjo-Iweala on Twitter thanked WTO members for their support and wrote that she was ''happy to be in the final round." Happy to be in the final round of the @wto DG campaign. Thanks, WTO members for your continued support of my candidacy. I could not have made it without the prayers and support of all Nigerians and friends around the world. Thank you @MBuhari and all my friends. Aluta continua! — Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (@NOIweala) October 8, 2020 × The previous WTO director-general, Roberto Azevedo of Brazil, made a surprise announcement in May that he would leave the job a year early, citing a ''personal decision''. He left without a successor on August 31. Azevedo's seven-year tenure was marked by intense pressure from US President Donald Trump, who repeatedly accused the WTO of ''unfair'' treatment of the U.S. And started a trade war with China in defiance of the WTO system. In the past, Trump has threatened to pull the United States out of the trade body altogether. The WTO's dispute settlement system is perhaps the world's best-known venue for resolving international trade disputes - such as those pitting plane-makers Boeing and Airbus in recent decades. But the United States has clogged up the dispute settlement machinery by blocking any new members for its highest court, the Appellate Body, which has unable to address new disputes since last year. The next director-general will face the daunting task of keeping the United States on board if Trump wins a second term, amid Washington's allegations that China is engaged in unfair practices such as excessively subsidizing industries and stealing intellectual property, notably at the expense of Western businesses hoping to tap the expanding Chinese market. China rejects the allegations. The WTO, which was created in 1995 out of the former General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, has never had a woman director-general or national from Africa as its leader. It operates by consensus, meaning that any single member country can block decisions.

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WTO eyes initial deal as negotiations continue deep into the night

In a first, World Trade Organization to be led by a woman

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