AFX News | July 25, 2003
World Trade Organisation director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi said he will hold daily meetings for heads of delegations from the 146 members from Aug 11, after a shortened summer recess, in a bid to end the impasse in talks, ahead of the September meeting of ministers in Mexico. Each morning gathering will target a key issue, starting with agriculture. "Our plan is to try to set up as much detailed option for the ministers as possible, and to be able to resolve some areas, so that at Cancun the ministers will have a manageable agenda to work on," Supachai told journalists. Next week, Supachai will travel to south America to lobby the leaders of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. The WTO ministerial meeting at Cancun on Sept 10-14 are aimed at reviving the Doha development round of trade talks, which have stalled notably on the issue of removing barriers to the global farm trade. Carlos Perez del Castillo, the Uruguayan diplomat leading the talks, said a final draft for Cancun should be ready by Aug 22, and will be sent out to capitals after it is approved by the WTO's ruling General Council on Aug 26. The WTO will hold an informal "mini-ministerial" meeting of about 26 countries in Montreal starting on Monday. Commenting on Montreal, Perez del Castillo said: "I expect signals for possible movement and signals for possible trade-offs." "If we manage to get some movement on agriculture, we will see that a number of other issues will be unlocked," Perez del Castillo told journalists. "On the contrary if we do not get any movement on agriculture, I think the process in Geneva from August 11 to 26 is going to be very difficult indeed," he warned.AFX News:
