Top U.S. trade official to have meeting with WTO chief on Wednesday

[September 22, 2021]  (Reuters) -U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will have an online meeting on Wednesday with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization, Tai's media office said, weeks before it holds an import ministerial conference.

Tai spoke by telephone earlier this month with the head of the WTO and acknowledged the "difficult logistical challenges" facing the upcoming WTO conference.

The global trade watchdog is due to hold a ministerial conference of its 164 members in November and December, which is set to be a critical test of Okonjo-Iweala's leadership.

The WTO has not concluded a multilateral deal for years.

WTO members are set to negotiate a range of topics at the meeting, including trade, the COVID-19 pandemic as well as agriculture and fisheries.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel)

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