Geneva, Nov 27 (UNI/Sputnik) The 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been postponed because of the spread of the new strain of COVID-19, Deputy Director General of the WTO Anabel Gonzalez said.
"@wto #MC12 has been postponed. The full membership is behind the decision of the General Council Chair @CastilloDacio and DG @NOIweala. Health, fairness and inclusiveness informed the call. It is the right decision. Work will and must continue," Gonzalez wrote on her Twitter page on late Friday.
UK permanent representative to the WTO Simon Manley expressed solidarity with the organization's decision.
"The @wto DG @NOIweala announcing the postponement of next week’s MC12, given the health situation and, with it, the inability of all delegations to attend. A wise decision. We stand undaunted in our support for the @wto and look forward to the holding of a successful MC12 ASAP," Manley tweeted.
The new variant, B.1.1.529, has been recently registered in southern Africa and is reported to carry an exceptionally high number of mutations, many of them in spike proteins, the main target of COVID-19 vaccines, potentially making it even more transmissible.
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