Strengthening policy coherence – cooperation with other organizations

In the 20 years since the launch of the WTO, the world has changed fundamentally and so too have the challenges faced by the international community. Countries and their economies are more interdependent and interconnected than ever. Financial and economic shocks, climate and environmental damage or life-endangering epidemics spread faster than before, sometimes with devastating or potentially devastating effect, as shown by the global financial crisis of 2008 or epidemics such as SARS or bird flu earlier in the decade.