New Delhi: A mini-ministerial meeting of WTO
members from both rich and developing nations to be called by
India will seek to "revitalise" the multi-lateral trade body,
Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said.
A mini-ministerial meeting of trade ministers of some
developed and developing countries is proposed to be hosted by
India in February.
"The objective of the meeting is to discuss ways to
revitalise the WTO, which, we believe, is the best available
multilateral institution to ensure predictable and transparent
system of rule-making in the area of international trade,"
Prabhu told PTI.
About 40 WTO member countries are expected to participate
in the meeting, which is taking place after collapse of the
ministerial talks held in Buenos Aires in early December.
The meeting would be in the the backdrop of rich nations
forming groupings to prepare ground for pushing new issues
such as investment facilitation, preparing rules for e-
commerce, promoting gender equality and reducing subsidy on
fisheries.
India has been keenly pushing agriculture issues at the
World Trade Organisation (WTO). It has also been raising its
voice against bringing new issues, especially those which are
not directly linked to trade, on the negotiating table.
The talks at the WTO's 11th ministerial conference
collapsed after the US went back on its commitment to find a
permanent solution to the public food stockholding issue, a
key matter for India.
The four-day conference in Argentina, which ended without
a ministerial declaration or any substantive outcome, did
manage to make some feeble progress on fisheries and e-
commerce by agreeing to work programmes.
A dejected WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo expressed
disappointment over the way the negotiations progressed and
called for soul-searching among the member countries. In
multilateral negotiations.
PTI
