WTO: Pakistan's trade envoy to head Doha agriculture negotiating body (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Pakistan's trade envoy to the World Trade Organization, Ambassador Ali Sarfaraz Hussain, has been nominated to chair the Doha agriculture negotiating body, also referred to as the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session (CoA-SS), at a time when the WTO appears to be enveloped by growing uncertainty and a sense of gloom, said people familiar with the development.

Trade: Members praise outgoing CTS chair's guidance at WTO (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The outgoing chair of the World Trade Organization's Council for Trade in Services (CTS), Ambassador Syahril Syazli Ghazali of Malaysia, last week urged WTO members to intensify engagement in addressing outstanding issues such as the mandated services waiver for least-developed countries (LDCs), as well as exploring flexibilities to achieve potential deliverables for the upcoming WTO's 14th ministerial conference (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon, in end-March 2026, said people familiar with the development.

UN: Sweeping funding cuts sending a "seismic shock" to aid sector (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 18 March informed that it is implementing "essential structural adjustments" at its Geneva headquarters and globally "to align with the unavoidable financial realities following an unprecedented 30 per cent reduction in estimated donor funding for the year, including a major decrease in United States-funded projects worldwide."