13 Mar 2020 14:20

WTO director-general deems holding MC12 in June unadvisable

NUR-SULTAN. March 13 (Interfax) - The World Trade Organization (WTO) deems it unadvisable to hold the organization's Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June, the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Trade and Integration said.

"The World Trade Organization has reported that WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo and Chair of the WTO General Council and New Zealand Ambassador David Walker, following consultations with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Geneva, circulated a note among the members saying that we deem it unadvisable to hold MC12 from June 8 to June 11, as was agreed earlier," the Kazakh ministry said on its website on Friday.

Azevedo said that he and Walker would soon hold consultations with WTO member countries, including at a special meeting of the organization's General Council, to discuss a date and venue for MC12, it said.

In light of Covid-19 coronavirus-related risks, the Kazakh government earlier asked the WTO to reconsider the decision to hold the organization's Twelfth Ministerial Conference in Nur-Sultan on June 8-11.