Geneva, a city that hosts many international organisations, is an attractive place. However, its location by a lake, its views of snow-capped mountains, its calm Swiss conservatism, and the understated feeling of wealth, wellness and security, makes it seem at times almost surreal.
Much the same holds true of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Located not far from the city centre, on the banks of Lake Geneva, it has an almost dream-like quasi-academic environment well suited to the often obscure exchanges that take place within.
There officials, and now much less frequently, ministers from around the world, continue to try to put in place the building blocks necessary to achieve a comprehensive round of global trade liberalisation. The theory is that new and more liberal rules for trade in both goods and services should increase the velocity of trade, create growth and result in a
