Global trading system hit by 'worst disruptions in the past 80 years': WTO chief

Yaound : The global trading system is experiencing the worst disruptions in the past 80 years , World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo Iweala wa...

Yaoundé: The global trading system is experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned as the WTO ministerial conference opened Thursday.

"The world order and the multilateral system we use to know has irrevocably changed," she said, adding: "We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today."

The World Trade Organization's 166 members appear deeply divided as trade ministers gather in the Cameroonian capital for the WTO's top conference, amid global economic turmoil linked to the Middle East conflict.

Over four days in Yaounde, WTO members will try to revitalise an institution weakened by geopolitical tensions, stalled negotiations and rising protectionism -- against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East, which poses a serious threat to international trade.

"The scale of the problems confronting the world today, even before the conflict in the Gulf, destabilised trade in energy, fertiliser and food," Okonjo-Iweala said.