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WTO director for flexibility to ignite stalled trade talks
Montreal, July 29: The World Trade Organisation`s leader has urged trade ministers to show more flexibility in stalled talks aimed at revamping the global trade system.
Montreal, July 29: The World Trade Organisation's leader has urged trade ministers to show more flexibility in stalled talks aimed at revamping the global trade system.
Ministers from 25 countries met in a downtown Montreal
hotel to hammer out a consensus the divisive issues of farm
subsidies and patented medicines for poor countries.
The latest round of free trade talks has made little progress since being launched in 2001 in Doha.
"We need more flexibility in the positions of countries. We need country members to be prepared to talk about some compromise. We need ministers to commit on a political basis to some of the key decisions in key areas," World Trade Organisation Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi said yesterday.
"The ministers present could start igniting the negotiation process."
Supachai noted the Montreal "mini-ministerial" will be a gauge of "how far we can go in certain directions" ahead of the Cancun WTO summit in September, not a decision-making gathering.
"It's a ripening process. Now is the time to make progress because there are openings in agriculture."
Talks are stalled over conditions to progressively reduce export subsidies for agriculture and on access to markets, key issues for poor countries concerned over their ability to compete in the global marketplace.
"The market access area of agriculture will be the most difficult area to handle," he said. Bureau Report
The latest round of free trade talks has made little progress since being launched in 2001 in Doha.
"We need more flexibility in the positions of countries. We need country members to be prepared to talk about some compromise. We need ministers to commit on a political basis to some of the key decisions in key areas," World Trade Organisation Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi said yesterday.
"The ministers present could start igniting the negotiation process."
Supachai noted the Montreal "mini-ministerial" will be a gauge of "how far we can go in certain directions" ahead of the Cancun WTO summit in September, not a decision-making gathering.
"It's a ripening process. Now is the time to make progress because there are openings in agriculture."
Talks are stalled over conditions to progressively reduce export subsidies for agriculture and on access to markets, key issues for poor countries concerned over their ability to compete in the global marketplace.
"The market access area of agriculture will be the most difficult area to handle," he said. Bureau Report