The head of the World ​Trade Organisation said on Thursday that the multilateral system ‌has fundamentally changed and that countries must look to the future to consider how to reform the global trade system.

“The ​world order and multilateral system we used to ​know has irrevocably changed. We will not get ⁠it back…We must look to the future,” WTO ​Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told delegates at the opening of the ​14th WTO ministerial conference in Yaounde, Cameroon.

While 72% of global trade still takes place under WTO rules, with growth in AI-related ​trade providing a bright spot, Okonjo-Iweala said the ​world trading system faces significant uncertainty due to the Middle East ‌conflict ⁠and the impact of U.S. tariffs on countries around the world.

Okonjo-Iweala set out a list of problems facing the WTO, including the paralysis of the WTO’s dispute settlement ​body and ​transparency in ⁠notifying the use of subsidies.

Only 64 members had filed subsidy notifications at the WTO ​for 2025, meaning 102 had not, Okonjo-Iweala ​said.

“Lack ⁠of transparency leads to lack of trust, and that breeds suspicions of unfairness and anti-competitive behaviours,” she told ⁠delegates. This ​contributed to a “vicious cycle” of ​mistrust, which is holding back members from agreeing to new rules and reforms, ​Okonjo-Iweala added.