The WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) took place from 12 to 17 June 2022 at WTO headquarters in Geneva. Ministers from across the world attended to review the functioning of the multilateral trading system, to make general statements and to take action on the future work of the WTO. The Conference was co-hosted by Kazakhstan and chaired by Mr Timur Suleimenov, Deputy Chief of Staff of Kazakhstan’s President. Kazakhstan was originally scheduled to host MC12 in June 2020 but the conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference concluded successfully on 17 June, with agreement on a package of key trade initiatives.
MC12 was originally scheduled to take place in June 2020 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2021, members agreed that MC12 would take place in Geneva from 30 November to 3 December. However, an outbreak of a new highly transmissible strain of the COVID-19 virus and resulting travel restrictions led to a General Council decision on 26 November 2021 to postpone MC12 indefinitely.
On 25 April, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, MC12 Chair Mr Timur Suleimenov and General Council Chair Ambassador Didier Chambovey informed members that MC12 would take place on 12-16 June 2022 at WTO headquarters in Geneva.