Development

Free Trade Not a Tool of the West

Bangkok Post WTO chief says poor nations will benefit Post Reporters "Globalisation is not an ideology, not a political theory, but economic evolution." - Mike Moore WTO director-general

UN Chief Slams Leading Nations Over Their Role in the Global Economy

Agence France Presse BANGKOK, Feb 12 -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Saturday launched an attack on the world's most powerful nations, saying they were responsible for the failure of last year's WTO talks and had impeded the development of poor countries.

Peaceful Protest at UN Trade Meeting

By BUSABA SIVASOMBOON / Associated Press Writer BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Hundreds of police braced for a repeat of the violent protests that plunged Seattle into chaos last December were greeted instead by only a few minutes of pushing Saturday at the opening of an international trade conference in Thailand.

UNCTAD to Help Rekindle Free Trade Talks

By Rajan Moses BANGKOK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The head of a key U.N. agency said its weeklong summit starting this week in Bangkok would be a forum to get stalled global free trade talks moving.

"Anti-Davos" Wants Free Trade Gains for Poor

By Chris Johnson BANGKOK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A global summit in Bangkok this week will try to help the poor take advantage of the spread of free trade that some developing countries fear only benefits the rich, officials said on Friday.

Poor Nations Re-Exam Trade Deal

AP Online / By DAVID THURBER BANGKOK, Thailand -- For decades, poor countries have felt excluded from the closed-door meetings that set the direction for the world's trade agreements. Nevertheless, most accepted the pacts, believing that free trade would help them develop and eventually join the ranks of the rich.

UNCTAD is in a Unique Position

The Nation With the failure of the WTO, the IMF, G-7 and other bodies, Unctad has an opportunity to influence the world, write Walden Bello and Nicola Bullard.

New WTO Leader Addresses Activists

New WTO Leader Addresses Activists Tue, 8 Feb 2000 8:10:14 PST BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- The future leader of the World Trade Organization today told activists demanding a greater voice in trade talks that globalization was entering a "crucial" stage and their concerns would be heeded.

Activists Want WTO and IMF Pared Down

BANGKOK: Non-governmental groups have seized a prominent place at the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) following violent anti-globalisation protests at last year's World Trade Organisation summit in Seattle and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last month.

Lawmakers, Activists Struggle over Trade Decisions

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)--Inspired by the collapse of world trade talks in Seattle, lawmakers and activists struggled Tuesday to wrest some of the decision-making powers away from governments, technocrats and corporations.