Trade ministers from key World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries, including India, on Saturday agreed that efforts needed to be stepped up to conclude a multilateral trade deal this year under the Doha Round.
“In the meeting lasting three hours, there is optimism that a window of opportunity (for concluding the deal) in 2011 can be accessed,” India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told reporters here after the deliberations.
Besides India, about two dozen ministers from the U.S., the European Union, Brazil, China, South Africa, Australia and Japan were present at the informal meeting of WTO members hosted by Swiss Federal Councillor of Economic Affairs Johann N Schneider-Ammann.
On the U.S. demands that developing countries should contribute more for conclusion of the Doha deal, Mr. Sharma said “the demands have to be reasonable.''
Meanwhile, the Swiss Minister is believed to have said at the meeting that ‘those who asked for more should be prepared to pay more'
Stumbling block
Differences between rich and developing nations have been a stumbling block in the conclusion of the talks. India and other developing nations are defending their agricultural markets to protect millions of subsistence farmers from easy imports that may result from the multilateral agreement.
Mr. Sharma said that among the members “there is a consensus that the members should try and conclude the deal this calendar year.''
