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Market access, key for India in the WTO

Market access is one of India's key interest areas and India also wants significant relaxation of norms in the movement of natural persons as far as services negotiations are concerned.

Dipak Chatterjee, secretary, ministry of commerce and industry, said during the session on 'WTO: New agenda, new leadership' at the India Economic Summit organised by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, Chatterjee highlighted India's expectations from the coming negotiations.

Chatterjee expressed deep concern on the feeling that the development needs are not given due considerations in the WTO and urged the developed world to recognise the importance of the special and differential treatment given to the developing countries.

He added that India is also concerned on the Singapore issues particularly Trade and Investment and Trade and Competition Policy and it wants countries to adhere to the Doha mandate on these.

Another concern area identified by Chatterjee was of the implementation of agreements on TRIPS and Public Health. He said the recently concluded Sydney mini ministerial has laid a stepping stone on this but there is need to move ahead on this very important subject.

In his address Roderick Abbott, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organisation, Geneva presented an overview of the wide scope that WTO provides today to the trading world.

He referred to the WTO fund for capacity building in the developing countries and stressed on the development needs of these countries and the also of the LDCs.

According to him development should not be used only as a word, but it should be followed in its true sense and he assured that the WTO recognises this completely.

Abbott identified the areas of TRIPS and Public Health and the Singapore issues among other things as the challenges that WTO faces today, and thus adhering to the implementation deadlines for the member countries is all the more important.

Speaking on the occasion, Susan Esserman, partner, global business services, Steptoe & Johnson, USA identified the increasing number of regional trade agreements among countries as one of the fundamental challenges that the multilateral framework faces today.

She suggested coalition on the basis of national interests on specific issues may help at arrive at consensus in the coming negotiations, whose primary aim is to better the trade environment.

She said that it is important that the member countries meet the deadlines set by the Doha Development Agenda specifically on issues like TRIPS and Public Health and also on Agriculture Modalities.

François Loos, Minister Delegate for External Trade of France, in his addressed highlighted the need for arriving at a win-win situation for all the countries - developed or developing in the coming negotiations. He was of the opinion that without this common agenda the objective of trade and development cannot be achieved.

Rahul Bajaj, Co-Chair of the India Economic Summit 2002; Chairman and Managing Director, Bajaj Auto, chaired the session and urged the developed world to work towards the fulfilment of the Doha Development Agenda and grant the legitimate rights of the developing countries, understanding their constraints for development.

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