WTO chief hails global will to reach fish subsidies deal

World Trade Organization director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala declared a meeting of WTO members on Thursday a success because they confirmed their will to reach a deal of removing fishing subsidies.

"Today we were looking for the political guidance, the political support to move forward and for the first time in 20 years we have a text that has been agreed and blessed by all the ministers and heads of delegations of the 128 members we have today," Okonjo-Iweala told a news conference.

"We couldn't have wished for a better outcome," she continued. "When you sit back and look at what we were looking for from this meeting - political will, support to move forward, support to move forward on the basis of an agreed text - we got all that today."