WTO talks likely to be put off

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, SEPT. 24. The next round of trade talks under the World Trade Organisation umbrella in Doha, Qatar, may have to be postponed, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, who will take over as WTO chief next year, has been quoted as saying.

At a press conference in Wellington today, Dr. Supachai said the crucial dialogue on trade talks could be put off by up to a month. Developed countries have been pushing for a new round of trade talks and the Doha meeting is expected to see a big push by the developed world to start a new round of trade talks. Developing countries, however, have insisted that earlier agreements should be implemented in full by developed countries before a new round of trade talks can begin.

``If it's impossible to hold the meeting between November 9 and 13, we may change dates a bit but we shouldn't change the venue,'' Dr. Supachai, a former Thai Deputy Prime Minister, stated. ``I think we have to have the understanding that the Qatar Government has put all its effort into this very important event. If we have to put up certain special arrangements, it's not insurmountable to do so,'' he said.

Dr. Supachai said delaying the talks could increase the chance of their success. ``If we need to do that, we'll be giving more time to work on the new round. It would grant a larger success likelihood for the launching of the new round,'' Dr. Supachai maintained.

``After Seattle we've done a lot of confidence- building, so much so that at this moment in time I think we are close to achieving our goals,'' he said. ``These days, when we're faced with the challenges of anti-globalisation and faced with some of the quite alarming terrorist actions...the best thing is to try and get our act together.

''If we can manage globalisation in a way that we can limit the negative consequences, we can move to rebuild the gaps between rich and poor nations,`` Dr. Supachai added.

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Section  : International
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