ID :
78577
Sun, 09/06/2009 - 12:52
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/78577
The shortlink copeid
MINISTER ASKS INDIA TO SEEK COMPROMISES FROM MAJOR WTO MEMBERS
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Bernama) -- International Trade and Industry Minister
Mustapa Mohamed has asked India as Chair of the World Trade Organisation
(WTO) Informal Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi to assume a leadership role in
seeking compromises from the major members.
This would signal to the world the seriousness of the meeting towards
achieving in moving the Doha Development Agenda process forward, he said in a
statement issued by the ministry here Saturday.
Thirty-five economies including United States, European Community, Brazil,
China and Japan participated at the two-day meeting that ended yesterday to work
toward re-energising the Doha Round of negotiations with a view to concluding
the Round in 2010.
The Doha Round of negotiations has been on the agenda of several major
international meetings in the recent past but the political message from these
ministerial meetings have yet to be fully translated into concrete actions to
move forward the negotiations.
At the New Delhi meeting, Mustapa had stressed the need to "move beyond
statements and rhetoric and focus our minds and energy on concrete ways to move
forward the current impasse".
He said the challenge for WTO was to build on the good progress already made
in negotiations in 2008 and accelerate efforts to conclude the modalities in
agriculture and non-agricukture market access.
The areas where there was agreement should not be reopened, he said.
He said a detailed Doha Round work programme would facilitate officials in
undertaking more intense efforts to progress the negotiations, including
advancing in parallel negotiations in the area of services, rules,
trade-related intellectual property rights, and other remaining issues.
While all possible options must be explored to narrow the remaining gaps in
the negotiations, including engagement through bilateral and plurilateral
meetings, it was also important for all members to be apprised of progress to
ensure the process of transparency, he said.
It is estimated that the conclusion of the Doha Round would boost global
Gross Domestic Product by US$300 billion to US$700 a year while world exports
would rise by an estimated US$180 billion to US$520 bilion annually.
The negotiations, however, had stalled since July 2008 when developing and
developed nations failed to compromise on certain issues including the special
safeguard mechanism to protect emerging markets and the non-agriculture market
access.
-- BERNAMA
Mustapa Mohamed has asked India as Chair of the World Trade Organisation
(WTO) Informal Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi to assume a leadership role in
seeking compromises from the major members.
This would signal to the world the seriousness of the meeting towards
achieving in moving the Doha Development Agenda process forward, he said in a
statement issued by the ministry here Saturday.
Thirty-five economies including United States, European Community, Brazil,
China and Japan participated at the two-day meeting that ended yesterday to work
toward re-energising the Doha Round of negotiations with a view to concluding
the Round in 2010.
The Doha Round of negotiations has been on the agenda of several major
international meetings in the recent past but the political message from these
ministerial meetings have yet to be fully translated into concrete actions to
move forward the negotiations.
At the New Delhi meeting, Mustapa had stressed the need to "move beyond
statements and rhetoric and focus our minds and energy on concrete ways to move
forward the current impasse".
He said the challenge for WTO was to build on the good progress already made
in negotiations in 2008 and accelerate efforts to conclude the modalities in
agriculture and non-agricukture market access.
The areas where there was agreement should not be reopened, he said.
He said a detailed Doha Round work programme would facilitate officials in
undertaking more intense efforts to progress the negotiations, including
advancing in parallel negotiations in the area of services, rules,
trade-related intellectual property rights, and other remaining issues.
While all possible options must be explored to narrow the remaining gaps in
the negotiations, including engagement through bilateral and plurilateral
meetings, it was also important for all members to be apprised of progress to
ensure the process of transparency, he said.
It is estimated that the conclusion of the Doha Round would boost global
Gross Domestic Product by US$300 billion to US$700 a year while world exports
would rise by an estimated US$180 billion to US$520 bilion annually.
The negotiations, however, had stalled since July 2008 when developing and
developed nations failed to compromise on certain issues including the special
safeguard mechanism to protect emerging markets and the non-agriculture market
access.
-- BERNAMA
