India to host mini-ministerial meeting of WTO members in Feb 2018 to revitalize multi-lateral trade body

The mini-ministerial meeting of WTO members from both rich and developing nations is proposed to be hosted by India in February 2018 to revitalize the multi-lateral trade body. The objective of the meeting is to discuss ways to revitalise the WTO, which is the best available multilateral institution to ensure predictable and transparent system of rule-making in the area of international trade. About 40 WTO member countries are expected to participate in the meeting, which is taking place after collapse of the ministerial talks held in Buenos Aires in December 2017. The meeting would be in the backdrop of rich nations forming groupings to prepare ground for pushing new issues such as investment facilitation, preparing rules for e-commerce, promoting gender equality and reducing subsidy on fisheries.