Ministers show ‘political energy’ for ending Doha Round
2 Dec 2009
WTO ministers ended their two-and-a-half-day Geneva conference having declared that they want to try to conclude the Doha Round talks quickly and agreeing to extend “moratoriums” on electronic commerce and intellectual property
Political energy for Doha Round
Although this conference was not designed for negotiations, almost all ministers said they wanted the Doha Round talks to achieve an agreement soon, a large number them calling for this to be done by the end of 2010.
These calls were made in formal plenary meetings and in informal working sessions.
“Ministers reaffirmed the need to conclude the Round in 2010 and for a stock-taking exercise to take place in the first quarter of next year,” the conference chair, Chilean Finance Minister Andrés Velasco, told delegations when he summed up the meeting for delegations.
“There was support for asking senior officials to continue to work to map the road towards that point. Gaps remain on substance and there was wide acknowledgment of the need for leadership and engagement on the remaining specific issues over the coming weeks.”
He also stressed: “There was strong convergence on the importance of trade and the Doha Round to economic recovery and poverty alleviation in developing countries. The development dimension should remain central to the Round and particular attention should be paid to issues of importance to developing countries.”
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told a press conference afterwards that the desire ministers expressed to conclude the Doha Round quickly has provided the “political energy” to organize work for the coming months.
This work “roadmap” will be drawn up when senior officials from members’ capitals come to Geneva in mid-December, with the aim of setting the tasks for the first quarter of 2010.
The date of the end of the first quarter arises because if members can agree on “modalities” — the formulas and other outlines that form the blueprint for the final agreement in agriculture and non-agricultural market access — by that time, they could reach a final agreement by the end of the year. Several ministers repeated their desire to see the talks end by then.
Asked whether this is realistic, Mr Lamy said “my view is that it’s perfectly do-able,” but whether or not it will be achieved is up to the members.
Source:WTO
