Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, attended the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference's Plenary Session.

The decision of the impending 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) would have an immediate impact on India's commerce policy, from a contentious global intellectual property rights (IPR) waiver for COVID vaccines to the norms for regulating services and trade.

The once-every-two-year mega gathering of trade ministers from all 164 WTO member countries that legislate on global trade will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from June 12 to 15.

While the conferences have always been dramatic, the MC12 is more significant than ever for India.

In June 2020, the meeting was supposed to take place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

It was postponed and relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, due to the COVID Pandemic.

The dates for MC12 were set for November 30, 2021, and December 3, 2021. The conference was cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed by the Omnicron variant.In June 2020, the meeting was supposed to take place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

It was postponed and relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, due to the COVID Pandemic.

The dates for MC12 were set for November 30, 2021, and December 3, 2021. The conference was cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed by the Omnicron variant.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the sole worldwide organisation that regulates international trade rules.

It replaced the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade when it was established in 1995.

Geneva in  Switzerland is where the headquarters are located

Source: PIB