World Trade Organization ministers opened a five-day meeting here Friday under heavy security to draft an agenda for a new round of talks aimed at tearing down trade barriers.
The conference, taking place at a luxury hotel on the shores of Gulf, was formally opened by the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. Guarded by army troops in response to heightened terrorism fears, delegates from the 142-member WTO will try to overcome policy differences to decide on what should and should be included in a new round.
Their last such initiative, in Seattle in 1999, fell apart when ministers proved unable to overcome disagreements and left the city with nothing to show for their efforts.
This time around the stake are far higher for the global economy. The United States, Germany and Japan are all plunging toward recession, a slide exacerbated by the Septemner 11 suicide attacks in New York and Washington.
The volume of merchandise trade is expected to grow just two percent in 2001 after 12 percent last year.
Despite the urgency in the current situation, ministers are approaching the Doha conference deeply divided on some of the very issues that derailed the Seattle gathering. Bureau Report