The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is seen as vital for pushing forward the Doha Round negotiations, is to open here Tuesday afternoon.

The following is a brief introduction of the WTO:

Established on Jan. 1, 1995, the Geneva-based WTO is the only global international organization dealing with the agreed rules of trade between its 149 members.

Saudi Arabia became a new member of the WTO ahead of the Dec. 13-18 Hong Kong meeting.

The WTO replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT), which was formed in 1948 and oversaw eight rounds of trade negotiations.

The WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world's economies, cover not only goods but also trade in services, inventions and designs.

It aims at helping global trade flow as freely, fairly and predictably as possible by administering trade agreements, acting as a forum for trade negotiations, settling trade disputes, reviewing national trade policies, assisting developing countries through technical aids and training programs, and cooperating with other international organizations.

As the highest decision-making body of the WTO, the Ministerial Conference, which meets at least once every two years, can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements.

On Sept. 1, former European Union trade chief Pascal Lamy succeeded Thailand's Supachai Panitchpakdi as WTO's fifth director- general for a four-year term.

According to the WTO's statistics, the total trade volume of its members currently accounts for 95 percent of the global trade.