What is the specific situation of the WTO suspension of the meeting? How long will the suspension last? Attached is the reason for suspension!

On March 10, local time, WTO Director-General Azevedo announced that the WTO would suspend its meetings. So what is the specific situation of the WTO's suspension of the meeting? What is the reason for the suspension? How long will the suspension last?

What is the specific situation of the WTO suspension of the meeting? What is the reason for the suspension?

Due to a WTO employee being infected with the new coronavirus, the WTO will suspend all meetings from March 11 to March 20.

How many WTO member countries are there?

WTO members are divided into four categories: developed members, developing members, members with transition economies and least developed members. On November 7, 2006, the General Council of the World Trade Organization held a special meeting in Geneva and officially announced the acceptance of Vietnam as the 150th member of the organization.

On October 26, 2012, at the General Council meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, Laos was formally approved as its 158th member. Accordingly, the number of formal members of the WTO has reached 158.

On December 10, 2012, the WTO General Council held an informal meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, and adopted a package of documents on Tajikistan's accession to the WTO, approving Tajikistan's membership. According to WTO rules, Tajikistan's legislature should approve the relevant agreement before June 7, 2013. Thirty days after the completion of this domestic procedure, Tajikistan will officially become the 159th member of the WTO. On March 2, 2013, Tajikistan officially became the 159th member of the WTO.

On December 4, 2013, the ninth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization in Bali, Indonesia, passed an agreement formally approving Yemen's accession to the WTO. Yemen becomes the 160th member of the WTO.

On April 26, 2015, Seychelles concluded its 20-year-long negotiations on accession terms with WTO members and officially became the 161st member of the WTO.

On July 27, 2015, the signing ceremony for Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO was held in Geneva, Switzerland. Kazakhstan becomes the 162nd member of the World Trade Organization.