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WTO platform for developing countries' concerns: Maran

Indian Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran has said the World Trade Organisation meet in Doha presents an "opportunity for discussing all issues that concern developing countries."

Maran, who is leading the Indian delegation at the fourth WTO ministerial meet that starts Friday, said the focus of the conference would be on issues such as public health and providing health care to millions in Africa and Asia.

He told the Qatar news agency upon arrival in Doha that the conference should finalise discussions on issues raised at previous meetings before starting discussions on new ones.

Trade ministers from the WTO's 142 member states are gathering in Doha to try to hammer out an agreement on an agenda for a new round of trade liberalisation negotiations. The Doha meet will conclude on November 13.

The ministers still have to resolve differences over issues such as agriculture and how environmental rules apply to trade. Some developing countries still have to be convinced that a new round of trade liberalisation is in their interests.

Qatar's foreign ministry's protocol department director Ahmed Jassem Al Mulla and Indian Ambassador Ranjan Mathai received Maran.

Indian commerce secretary Prabir Sengupta, special secretary in commerce ministry Nripendra Mishra, India's permanent representative at the WTO S Narayanan, and senior commerce and other government department officials accompanied Maran.

Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Najma Heptullah is also likely to attend the meeting.

Other delegations have also started arriving in Qatar for the meeting. Among them was the US delegation led by Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.

Earlier, Qatar's Minister of Finance, Economy and Trade Yousef Hussein Kamal said he was confident the Doha meeting, being held two years after the failure of the Seattle summit, would be a success.

Kamal said the ground had been prepared for a consensus on all major issues before the WTO member states. The final communique has been re-drafted several times.

The last WTO meeting in Seattle was marred by massive street protests against globalisation. A meeting of the world's leading industrialised nations in Genoa, Italy, last summer was also marred by violence that left one protester dead.

Security is expected to be extremely tight in Doha following the September 11 attacks on US cities and retaliatory air raids on targets in Afghanistan.

Qatar has said it will allow peaceful demonstrations but not allow anyone to disrupt the conference. The number of non-governmental participants is expected to be around 600.

Environmental group Greenpeace said last month it was sending its flagship, Rainbow Warrior, to Qatar with about 35 activists on board to protest at the WTO meeting.

The meeting has generated huge interest with about 1,000 reporters expected to arrive in Qatar to cover the event.

Indo-Asian News Service

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