Expressing its commitment to the progress of current negotiations under the World Trade Organisation, India has said the focus of the talks should be on development issues reflected in the Doha work programme.
India has expressed concern over the lack of any meaningful progress on implementation issues, special and differential treatment, intellectual property rights and public health.
"India looks forward to substantial results in these areas before the Cancun ministerial meeting of trade ministers from WTO member countries in September, including the unresolved issue of low or insufficient manufacturing capacity in the pharmaceuticals sector," a commerce ministry statement said.
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"For many developing countries, the success of Cancun depends on the successful resolution of these key developmental issues," SN Menon, additional secretary, ministry of commerce, said after the informal and formal sessions of the WTO's trade negotiations committee held in Geneva last week.
On agriculture, India said it attached priority to special and differential provisions and looked forward to early discussion on issues like sanitary and phyto-sanitary and special safeguard measures.
Though India had said there was a lack of balance in the progress of negotiations and the deadlines set in the Doha round had been missed, it felt that an early resolution of these issues would help negotiations on agriculture.
Menon said India was looking forward to engaging constructively in further discussions on non-agricultural issues in the negotiating group on market access.
"For India and many other developing countries, we expect an outcome that fully factors in the financial and development needs of developing countries, the concept of less than full reciprocity and emphasis on market access for products of export interest to developing and least developed countries. We are working closely with other developing and least developed countries in this area and are looking forward to the chairman's proposals, which, we are sure, will put development at the centrestage," the statement said.
On services, India said it was of the opinion that there would be progress on the basis of the momentum that was being generated by the request and offer process and the bilateral negotiations.
India once again reiterated its stance on Singapore issues and said further expansion of the multilateral trade agenda would be unproductive.
"Even as it is, we are struggling with the existing agreements, as evidenced by the fact that we have not been able to meet any of the deadlines decided upon by ministers at Doha," the statement said.
It also said at this point it was extremely difficult to envisage how things would shape up in Cancun.
"Much would depend on our ability to complete the work in respect of the issues for which deadlines have already been laid down, including those we have missed. This again, would depend on strong political commitment," the statement added.