WTO ministerial confce begins in Geneva today

Nizam Ahmed The eighth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that begins in Geneva later today (Thursday) is lkely to see a debate among poor developing and the least developed countries over restriction of food exports, officials and experts said. Food producing nations among developing countries (DCs) led by India and 31 least developed countries (LDCs) including Bangladesh are poised to debate the issue of restriction on food exports during the 3-day conference until Saturday, WTO sources said. The DCs imposed the restriction on export of food items in the past years for what they said protecting local market from volatility. While the LDCs supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) have been demanding withdrawal of all sorts of restriction on food exports, especially to the net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs). India, pointing to rising concerns on food security, will oppose any debate on the restrictions imposed by the developing countries on export of food items that result in a spurt in prices, officials of the India's ministry of commerce told media in New Delhi Monday. Also according to informed sources, the conference was not likely to break a persisting deadlock in the decade-old Doha Round talks due to protectionist attitude of the rice exporting nations belonging to the developed countries including the US and the EU. The Doha Round of talks which commenced in 2001 advocated further liberalisation of trade in agriculture, industrial goods and services. The Doha Round of talks have missed several deadlines due to differences on the demand by the developed countries on the level of market opening in the developing nations. There are also discords on protection for farmers in the rich world. Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan (former commerce minister) is leading a strong Bangladesh delegation of some 20 members comprising leaders of chamber bodies, experts and officials at the conference. The delegation left Dhaka for Geneva Monday, officials of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) said. The conference to be presided over by Trade and Investment Minister Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga of Nigeria, is likely to grant full membership to Russia, Samoa and Montenegro, according to the agenda of the conference. The LDCs are expected to assert the need for implementation of the decisions to give the LDCs duty-free and quota-free access to the developed countries taken in a similar conference in Hong Kong in 2005. At the ministerial conference the 31 LDCs, home of some 12 per cent of the world population of some 7.0 billion, will try to get more facilities from the developed world to increase their share of global trade, which now constitutes less then one per cent, WTO officials said. However, there are more 18 LDCs outside the 153-nation world trade body. There are 107 DCs including Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka, according to Mathematical Society.