World Markets Analysis | By Gus Selassie | February 17, 2004
Trade ministers from 18 African countries are meeting in the coastal Kenyan town of Mombasa today to begin informal trade talks aimed at establishing a common negotiation position ahead of the next round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks in Hong Kong next year. The three-day meeting is being organised by Kenya's Trade Ministry and is also being attended by WTO Director-General Panitchkadi Supachai, as well as the European Union's (EU) Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy, and US Trade Representative (USTR) Bob Zoellick. Significance: The meeting also aims to find a solution to some of the serious disagreements that led to the dramatic collapse of the WTO's Doha round of talks in Cancun (Mexico) back in September 2003. The much-anticipated Cancun summit ended inconclusively due to serious disagreements - between the US and EU on one side and developing countries on the other - over new trade rules under WTO terms, including agricultural reform issues.World Markets Analysis:
