South Asian News Network

Developing and least-developed countries have asked for changes to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to ensure multilateral cooperation, fair trade, and the standardization of dispute resolution systems. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Tunisia’s minister of state for foreign trade, underlined the importance of a dynamic strategy that respects regulations while allowing the WTO to work toward common goals.
The WTO presently has 164 members, and the ministers formally approved Comoros and Timor-Leste’s membership criteria on February 26. Al Zeyoudi stressed the WTO’s ability and importance in meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated that ambassadors have heard the ministers’ invitation to focus on establishing a fully operational system available to all members this year.
China’s Commerce Minister, Wang Wentao, declared China encourages poor countries, including Arab states, to join the global economic system and insists on benefiting the entire globe through its own development. Sujoko Efferin, a professor at Indonesia’s Universitas Surabaya, believes China’s strategic economic and technological might is critical to encouraging inclusion and ensuring that the opinions of least-developed nations are heard and considered in WTO decision-making procedures.