Overview
- Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala used the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam on November 14 to call for Indian leadership in WTO reform.
- She warned against a drift toward power-based trade, urging members to reinforce multilateral rules that have underpinned global commerce.
- Citing reconfigured supply chains and fast-growing digital and green trade, she said India is well placed to benefit, with digitally delivered services now near USD 5 trillion and growing 6–8% annually.
- She acknowledged long-standing developing-country concerns, including public stockholding and unfulfilled mandates, while pressing for a forward-looking, solution-driven approach.
- She said members should heed U.S. complaints about tariffs and dispute settlement, and she voiced hope for extending the e-commerce moratorium at MC14 in March 2026.