Brazil restates pledge to help build a stronger WTO

Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Relations Mauro Vieira this Friday (Jan. 27) had a phone conversation with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization. Among other issues, they discussed Brazil’s proposal for annual WTO meetings.

The measure, a ministry statement says, aims to “improve the organization’s ability to respond to crises and expand the engagement of members, contributing to the process of reform and invigoration of the organization.”

Minister Vieira also reaffirmed Brazil’s commitment to the strengthening and modernization of the Multilateral Trade System and the WTO, and pledged the Brazilian government’s commitment to the ratification of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which establishes new trade rules for the sector.

The document was finalized in the last WTO ministerial conference and, according to the ministry, “represents an important contribution to multilateralism and the Sustainable Development Goals.”