Achieving the Bali deal has "reaffirmed the WTO role as a permanent forum of multilateral trade negotiations," Gita Wirjawan, chairman of the ministerial conference and Indonesia's trade minister, said after a historic Bali trade deal has been made at its ninth ministerial meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

Making remarks in the closing ceremony of the conference, Wirjawan said the achievement of the conference showed that the WTO is still relevant in global trade.

"It is only through multilateral agreements that many of the poorest and most vulnerable countries can truly benefit from international trade. So what we do in the WTO is vital, " he said.

Commenting on the Bali deal, Wirjawan said the package will " bring food security to billions of the world's poorest, ""inject up to a trillion dollar into the world economy," and "help least developed countries benefit more from the multilateral trading system."

"These are historic achievements. We have crossed the finish line here in Bali but the race is not yet over," he said adding that the Doha Round must be completed through future works.

"We must take the energy and confidence we've gained here and applied in Geneva. Some of the issues we discussed here in Bali need to be solved. We have instructed our negotiators to prepare a clearly defined work program on the remaining Doha Development Agenda issues," he continued.

The 159-member WTO has on Saturday reached a breakthrough in its multilateral trade negotiation by sealing its first-ever trade package at its ninth ministerial meeting. Endi

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