Expressing concern over the slow progress of discussions under the current Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, India has asserted that the Delhi informal ministerial meet, which started today, should not remain just another reaffirmation from the member countries for successful conclusion of the negotiations.
“We need to go beyond yet another reaffirmation and work together for a clear road map of multilateral engagement in the months ahead, remaining conscious of the 2010 deadline. This is the value addition this ministerial meeting has to provide,” said Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, while addressing the gathering of 38 global trade ministers on the first day of the informal ministerial meeting in Delhi.
The minister expressed his concern over the delay in finalising the trade talks. “In some quarters, it has been suggested that most issues have been settled and we are almost in ‘endgame’. However, if we look at the talks of modalities on non-agricultural market access (Nama) and agriculture alone, there are still a few gaps and a large number of unresolved issues,” he said.
Stating that the Delhi ministerial is not the “appropriate forum” to discuss specific issues, Sharma asked the negotiating members to focus only on the best way to “spark” the multilateral negotiations to move the Doha Round to a quick closure.
The minister also once again criticised the newly proposed approaches towards the trade talks and urged the ministers to “reflect on the implications of changing a tried and tested process, in light of the 2010 timeline”.
Focusing on “inclusiveness” as an agenda and a key success factor in the talks, Sharma emphasised the need to integrate least developed countries in the multilateral trading system. Citing the ministerial declaration of November 2001 and the Hong Kong mandate, he said: “We cannot risk alienating any of those involved.”
Finally, the minister urged the negotiators to dwell upon the need to broad-base the ambit of issues being discussed on a priority basis under the trade talks. “Members could reflect on how, without departing from the Hong Kong mandate, we can consider moving other issues on the agenda forward,” he said. The ministerial mandate in Hong Kong had adopted a sequential approach to negotiations recommending priority treatment to agriculture and Nama.