Agence France Presse | July 14, 2003
Less than two months before a key World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting, the organisation's top official on Monday urged countries to begin negotiating in earnest to find compromises in ailing global trade negotiations.
WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi told delegates from the 146-strong Geneva-based global body that "overall we do not yet have a real negotiation".
"I urge you to seek the sort of instructions that will enable you to enter seriously into one.
"The time has come for delegations to start seriously communicating with each other and searching for compromise solutions to their substantive problems," he said.
Trade ministers are due to review progress of the three-year Doha Development round of negotiations that aim to further tear down barriers to trade at a September 10-14 meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
But progress has been slow in the negotiations which cover agriculture, market access for industrial goods and trade rules due to wide divergences. The talks are due for completion by January 1, 2005.
Supachai announced at Monday's meeting of the committee that oversees the overall negotiations that an initial text for ministers at the Cancun gathering would be released at the end of the week.
Although the text would be little more than a "skeleton", Supachai said it should focus on the "actions necessary to provide momentum and guidance for the negotiations".
Trade sources said it would aim to help ministers take stock of progress so far, make key decisions in areas such as agriculture, and give political guidance to the negotiators.
But, Supachai warned: "It is important to be clear in our minds about what such a draft can and cannot do at this stage of the negotiations.
"Clearly, it will not provide any magic solutions to major problems of substance in key areas," he said.Agence France Presse:
