The Hindu : `WTO should focus on development issues'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2003

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`WTO should focus on development issues'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI April 7. India has said that the focus of the World Trade Organisation negotiations now under way should be on development issues as reflected in the Doha Work Programme. At the same time, it underlined its commitment to progress in the current negotiations.

Expressing concern over the lack of meaningful progress on any of the development-related issues such as implementation, special and differential (S and D) treatment, TRIPS and public health, India said it looked forward to substantial results in these areas before the Cancun meeting, including the unresolved issue of low or insufficient manufacturing capacity in the pharmaceuticals sector.

A multilaterally-agreed solution would have to be found to this problem, affecting millions of people in the poorest parts of the world.

This view was expressed in statements made by the Additional Commerce Secretary, S.N Menon, at the WTO's Trade Negotiations Committee last week. "For many developing countries, success of the Cancun meet is predicated upon successful resolution of these key developmental issues," he said.

On negotiations on agriculture, India had taken the stance that it attached the highest priority to S and D provisions and looked forward to early discussions on crucial concepts such as sanitary and phyto sanitary and special safeguard measures.

On non-agricultural market access, Mr. Menon said India was looking forward to engaging constructively in further discussions in the negotiating group on market access in the light of the proposal which had already been put forward in line with the Doha mandate.

He pointed out that India and many other developing countries expected an outcome that fully factored in the financial and developmental 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.

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