The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has warned that real global gross domestic product might fall to five per cent if the world economy decouples into self-contained trading blocs.
Members were urged at the opening session of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, to demonstrate that the body could deliver for the international community and the people it serves.
She pointed out that the world was grappling with uncertainty and crises on multiple fronts.
Okonjo-Iweala urged members to avoid allowing geopolitical tensions to spill over into the work at the WTO as the consequences for the multilateral trading system would be severe.