Thailand joins WTO Ministerial Conference in Indonesia

BANGKOK, December 4 (TNA) - Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan is joining trade ministers worldwide in participating in the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was officially kicked off on Bali Island, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the conference on Wednesday, as many parties hoped the WTO conference this week, set from December 3-6, should come up with more concrete progress than its previous sessions. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said that all concerned parties had worked hard over the past months to achieve agreements under the WTO's frameworks and they had succeeded in many areas. However, Azevêdo acknowledged, there was a concern if negotiations in Bali failed, some member states might turn to bilateral or regional talks, which would have negative impacts on the WTO even though the world trade body has pushed for free and fair trade in general. At the conference, Thailand was calling for more opening of the world market for farm products and the potential enhancement of least developed countries (LDCs) so that they will become parts of the global trade system. With their participation, global trade will further expand and will be beneficial to Thailand. After the opening ceremony of the conference, protesters, meanwhile, held banners and demanded that the Geneva-based WTO let LDCs play more roles in global trade arenas, while developed countries stop subsidizing their farm products and blocking developing countries from building up their food security to relieve starvation in many countries. (TNA)