G20 foreign ministers agreed on Saturday to push for reforms in the World Trade Organization (WTO) during a meeting in the Japanese city of Nagoya.
During a press briefing, Japan Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that the ongoing negotiations on a sprawling Asia-Pacific free trade agreement should be concluded by all the original 16 member states even after India opted out.
“As trust in the multilateral framework is now being undermined, the G20 has shared the view that the WTO should be reformed so that it can address several current issues,” Motegi said after the end of the two-day meeting in Japan’s central city.
Motegi acknowledged that while global confidence in the multilateral context was being undermined, the G20 shared the view that the WTO needed to be reformed to be able to address current problems.
At the gathering, the foreign ministers discussed reforms to the WTO, as Japan, the United States and other countries are pushing for the Geneva-based organization to improve its dispute settlement system — a point touched on in a declaration issued by G20 leaders after their summit in Osaka in June.
However, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not participate in the G-20 meeting, reflecting Washington’s lack of interest in multilateral economic and financial policy dialogue.
In late June, the G20 leaders agreed to promote free trade and committed to using “all policy tools” to support the global economy, which faces downside risks.
The G20 consists of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
The G20 foreign ministers meeting in Nagoya was the last of a series of ministerial gatherings hosted by Japan this year, with the group’s rotating presidency next passing to Saudi Arabia. The latest meeting was wrapped up with no release of a joint statement.