GENEVA: Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have reached an agreement on key issues such as pandemic response, a TRIPS waiver linked to Covid-19, food security, the World Food Programme Food Purchases Exemption, fishery subsidies, e-commerce, and WTO reforms.

The agreement came as the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) finished on Friday at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. Ministerial declarations and ministerial decisions are used to attain these multilateral results.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, stated she is "delighted" and "excited" by the MC12 results, which show that the "WTO can deliver multilateral outcomes."  The MC12 has made breakthroughs on a number of major issues thanks to the combined efforts of all WTO members, indicating that the multilateral trade system can play a key role in tackling global concerns, she said.

The WTO's top decision-making body, the Ministerial Conference, is held every two years and is attended by trade ministers and other senior officials from the organization's 164 members.

The MC12, which began on Sunday, was extended by one day to provide for more time to debate the core concerns.

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