India today said restoring trust and confidence in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) through early resolution of pending issues, including trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPS) and public health, progress in areas of special and differential treatment, and implementation issues should be the priority of the Tokyo mini-ministerial.
Spelling out a six-point roadmap to Cancun, Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley, said it would be possible only by the active participation of developed countries during the negotiations, a stand supported by other developing countries, including Brazil, Kenya, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Lesotho and Senegal.
Addressing a session on the road to Cancun on the last day of the three-day meet beginning February 14, Jaitley said the focus should be on meeting deadlines for pending issues as well as setting deadlines for new issues.
Countries should attempt to achieve a consensus in Geneva so that only the most important issues are on the agenda at Cancun, he added.
The minister said the director-general of the WTO, in his capacity as the chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee, could consider laying down a roadmap with clear deadlines.
He said there should be a clear focus on achieving future deadlines laid down in the Doha Ministerial Declaration. The issue of internal transparency in the negotiations should also be addressed, he added.
Jaitley also suggested meetings of ministers and senior officials to focus on pending issues at Geneva rather than taking up overall reviews of work.
