On the eve of the informal World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting beginning tomorrow in Delhi, Australia has said that the successful completion of the Doha round of trade negotiations will require member countries to take tough political decisions.
“Clearly, the conclusion of this round is going to require some tough political decisions,” said Australian trade minister Simon Crean. Australia is one of the invitees to the two-day meet in Delhi.
India’s commerce ministry has clarified that the meeting, in which members from 36 countries are participating, is not aimed at any specific agenda and that it only tries to build the consensus on how global trade ministers would like to see the process of negotiation getting fast-tracked. “This meeting is important for two reasons — it is a reinforcement of India’s re-engagement in the process and it is a meeting which has the nearest proximity to the G-20 summit,” Crean said.
Crean added that the Doha Round of talks is close to being concluded with almost 80 per cent of trade discussions completed last year.
“Only the rest 20 per cent remains elusive. Significantly, we have seen the emergence of commitment by two significant players — India and the US,” he said. “At the technical level, we are very close to solution, in many areas. But technical solutions are not enough unless the political will is there.”
Emphasising upon the need to broad-base the ambit of negotiations, Crean said that talks on issues other than Agriculture and Non-Agricultural Market Access should gain equal priorities.
