World Trade Organization (WTO)

Purpose

Set and enforce rules for international trade, provide a forum for trade negotiations, and resolve trade disputes between member states.

Members:

166 member states

Headquarters:

Geneva, Switzerland

History

The WTO was established on 1 January 1995, succeeding the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT, 1947), with a broader mandate covering goods, services and intellectual property, and a formal dispute-settlement mechanism GATT had lacked.

Structure

• Ministerial Conference (every two years)
• General Council
• Secretariat, headed by the Director-General

Key facts

• Its Dispute Settlement Body has been largely paralyzed since 2019 after the United States blocked appointments to its Appellate Body
• Current Director-General: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria), since 2021, the first woman and first African to hold the post

Pakistan's relationship

Founding member (1995); participates in global trade negotiations and periodic trade policy reviews.