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EU to Heed Needs of Developing Countries to Push New WTO Round
European Union (EU) foreign ministers expressed their readiness Monday to meet the developing countries' specific requirements through all possible means at the World Trade Organizations (WTO) ministerial meeting to be held from November 9 to 13 in Doha, Qatar.
At their regular meeting held in Luxembourg, the ministers emphasized " the importance of the development dimension" at the Doha meeting as the 15-nation European bloc are trying, with other WTO members, to launch a new round of global multilateral trade negotiations.
The foreign ministers also stressed the need for greater and consistent efforts on the part of developed countries and international organizations to guarantee developing countries technical assistance and an enhancement of their capacity to participate effectively in the WTO talks and to derive full benefit from the advantages of trade and investment liberalization.
The ministers from all 15 EU governments were briefed by EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy on the preparations for the Fourth WTO ministerial meeting in Doha.
They stressed the positive political and economic impact of launching a new round of WTO talks aimed at strengthening international solidarity, reducing inequalities and increasing the stability and predictability of framework for trade, according to a statement issued here.
WTO members failed to launch a new round of talks at their third ministerial meeting in Seattle, the United States, in 1999 when government representatives were divided over main trade issues and anti-globalization protesters disrupted the meeting by clashing with police.
The EU governments have set a common stance in concerted efforts to launch the new WTO round in Doha, where 142 WTO members are expected to meet for the first time to address trade issues in the 21st century.
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