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The World Trade Organization must urgently reform itself, its chief warned Wednesday, saying that "I don't think the status quo is an option"."We are meeting today at an inflection point, not just for the WTO, but... for the multilateral system," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters, saying that if the global trading system were allowed to lapse, it would be "chaos"."We need to change to fit with the times," she said.Reform will be at the heart of the WTO's ministerial meeting in Cameroon next month.The World Trade Organization regulates large swathes of global trade but is handicapped by a rule requiring full consensus among members, and a dispute settlement system crippled by the US.The Geneva-based organisation faced structural and geopolitical obstacles long before US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year and dramatically ratcheted up global trade tensions.Speaking at the WTO's headquarters, Okonjo-Iweala said that "the world is moving so fast... If you look at the speed at which technology is moving, and AI is moving and quantum technologies are moving"."If your organisation doesn't adapt, then you'll be left behind," she said."This organisation provides stability and predictability," she added, hailing that "in spite of all the knocks, it is still the bedrock for so much of world trade"."If we don't have this system, what does it mean? I'll be very honest with you: there'll be chaos," she said."It means a business will send goods somewhere without the knowledge of how those goods will be valued when it arrives at customs... you wouldn't know how your goods will be valued before you're tariffed. You wouldn't know whether you're going to make money or not."You'll be confronted when your goods arrive with rules that you were never aware of," she said. 

The Shura Council participated in the parliamentary session as part of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Public Forum titled 'Promoting Multilateralism Through Digital Trade: What Role for Parliaments' organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in collaboration with the European Parliament, the session brought together parliamentarians and legislators from around the world, as well as representatives from the digital industry.HE member of the Shura Council Issa bin Ahmed al-Nasr represented the Council at this two-day event, which concluded at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. The parliamentary session discussed the contributions of parliamentarians and their role in formulating digital technology policies that promote inclusive growth and global cooperation, as well as modernizing trade governance.The session also highlighted the responsibilities of parliaments in designing legislation that supports cross-border digital trade, ensures equitable access for all, and reinforces the multilateral framework in an economy that increasingly utilizes digital technology.