Davos: Trade ministers lay the groundwork for the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference
Davos, 22.01.2026 — At the invitation of President Guy Parmelin, trade ministers responsible for World Trade Organization (WTO) issues and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala met in Davos on 22 January. They discussed the role of the WTO in addressing global trade policy challenges. In particular, they discussed possible avenues for compromise on certain negotiating topics and priorities for WTO reform. These issues will be at the heart of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference, to be held in Cameroon in March.
On the sidelines of the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, 21 WTO ministers attended an informal ministerial meeting organised by Switzerland to discuss the role of the WTO in addressing global trade policy challenges. The first part of the discussions focused on finding possible compromises on issues where consensus was already close at hand, in the context of a frank and interactive dialogue between ministers. These include the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement and the moratorium on e-commerce.
In the second part of the meeting, ministers offered political guidelines and exchanged views on reform priorities, which will be at the heart of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference set to take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon at the end of March. These talks provided an opportunity to discuss and reaffirm the central role of the WTO in global trade.
In an international context marked by tensions and challenges to established rules, Switzerland reaffirms its support for a rules-based multilateral trading system, which is a key pillar of its foreign trade policy. As an open economy that is closely integrated into global value chains, it depends on reliable rules to ensure stable and predictable trade. Switzerland will continue to promote a multilateral approach and support WTO reform in order to preserve rules-based international trade.