WTO members concluded the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi on 2 March with the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration setting out a forward-looking, reform agenda for the organization. Ministers also took several ministerial decisions, including renewing the commitment to have a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system by 2024 and to improve the use of the special and differential treatment (S&DT) provisions for developing and least developed countries (LDCs). They also agreed to continue negotiations in all areas where convergence was elusive at MC13. Commerce & Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal said that India was satisfied with the results as it had retained its policy space to protect farmers and fishers. The unfinished agenda of WTO MC13 is now likely to be worked upon in regular meetings of various committees at the WTO Secretariat in Geneva and then taken forward at MC14 in Cameroon in two years.
