The World Trade Organization (WTO) has published a call of proposals for this year's Public Forum, which is themed on trade after COVID-19 and the need to build resilience.
This year's Public Forum will explore the effects of the pandemic on trade and how the multilateral trading system can help build resilience to current and future crises. It is the WTO's largest annual outreach event.
All Public Forum sessions are organized by the participants, including the civil society, academia, business, governments, parliamentarians and intergovernmental organisations.
The Forum is scheduled to take place from 28 to 30 September.; to those interested in organizing sessions, You are invited to submit your proposals until June 7, 2021.
Meeting of great importance
The WTO says that while the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on global trade, global supply chains have so far held up better than many expected. After recording the sharpest decline in the second quarter of 2020, global merchandise trade rebounded in the second half of last year. Trade growth is thus projected to continue in 2021, although volumes are likely to remain well below the pre-crisis trend.
The rules-based trading system has been key to maintaining a flow of essential goods, such as medical supplies and equipment, and products needed to manufacture vaccines, during the pandemic, he added. It has also been critical to keeping food supply chains operational.
“While trade restrictions on COVID-19-related products that WTO members introduced early in the pandemic have been reversed and complemented by trade facilitation measures, we are now seeing new export controls related to vaccines,” the organization warns.
Consequently, the Forum to explore how reform programmes can restore confidence in the trading system and produce positive outcomes for developing and least developed countries. It will examine the integration of women, youth and small businesses into the global economy and how updated trade rules can help raise living standards and reduce poverty. It will also look at how WTO reform will require governments, multilateral institutions, the private sector and civil society to work together to ensure that the future trading system promotes sustainable trade and supports environmental protection.
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