First ministerial conference The inaugural ministerial conference was held in
Singapore in 1996. Its primary purpose was to initiate an international effort among global trading nations to overhaul the structure and mechanisms of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) while preserving the considerable progress and success achieved by that system since its inception in 1948. Disagreements, largely between developed and developing economies, emerged over four issues initiated by this conference; afterward, these were collectively referred to as the "
Singapore issues".
Second ministerial conference Was held in
Geneva in
Switzerland.
Third ministerial conference The third conference in
Seattle,
United States ended in failure, with
massive demonstrations and police and National Guard crowd control efforts drawing worldwide attention.
Fourth ministerial conference The fourth conference was held in
Doha In
Persian Gulf nation of
Qatar. The
Doha Development Round was launched at the conference. The conference also approved the joining of China, which became the 143rd member to join.
Fifth ministerial conference The ministerial conference was held in
Cancún,
Mexico, aiming at forging agreement on the Doha round. An alliance of 22
southern states, the
G20 (led by India, China and Brazil), resisted demands from the
North for agreements on the so-called "
Singapore issues" and called for an end to
agricultural subsidies within the EU and the US. The talks broke down without progress.
Sixth ministerial conference The sixth WTO Conference Ministerial was held in
Hong Kong from 13 December – 18 December 2005. It was considered vital if the four-year-old
Doha Development Agenda negotiations were to move forward sufficiently to conclude the round in 2006. In this meeting, countries agreed to phase out all their agricultural export subsidies by the end of 2013, and terminate any cotton export subsidies by the end of 2006. Further concessions to developing countries included an agreement to introduce duty-free, tariff-free access for goods from the Least Developed Countries, following the Everything But Arms initiative of the European Union — but with up to 3% of tariff lines exempted. Other major issues were left for further negotiation to be completed by the end of 2006.
Seventh ministerial conference Was held 30 November – 2 December 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland. The general theme for discussion was "The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment".
Eighth ministerial conference Was held 15–17 December 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland. Membership agreement were made for
Russia,
Samoa, and
Montenegro.
Ninth ministerial conference Was held 3–6 December 2013 in Bali, Indonesia. 159 members of World Trade Organization agreed to the
Bali Package which eases barriers to international trade.
Tenth ministerial conference The WTO's 10th Ministerial Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 15 to 19 December 2015. The completion of
Afghanistan and
Liberia's accession to the WTO was on the agenda. It culminated in the adoption of the "Nairobi Package", a series of six Ministerial Decisions on agriculture, cotton and issues related to least-developed countries (LDCs). The Conference was chaired by Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Amina Mohamed.
Eleventh ministerial conference The WTO's 11th Ministerial Conference was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 11 to 13 December 2017. It was chaired by Minister Susana Malcorra of Argentina. The Conference ended with a number of ministerial decisions, including on fisheries subsidies and e-commerce duties, and a commitment to continue negotiations in all areas.
Twelfth ministerial conference The agreement to host the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan was signed on 30 October 2019. The Ministerial Conference was scheduled for 8–11 June 2020, but was postponed and took place in June 2022 in
Geneva, Switzerland, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. It ran from 12 to 17 June 2022: although it was initially scheduled to end on 15 June, the meeting was extended by two days to allow more time for negotiations.
Thirteenth ministerial conference Two proposals were received to host the thirteenth Ministerial Conference, from
Cameroon and from the
United Arab Emirates (UAE). A concluding Ministerial Declaration was issued on the final day of the conference.
Fourteenth ministerial conference The WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference took place in
Yaoundé, Cameroon from 26 March to 29 March 2026. ==Doha Round==