Developing nation must get to head WTO: India
25 Jan 2013 2:45 AM GMT
India on Thursday said it will support a candidate from a developing country for the top post of the the World Trade Organization (WTO) that is to be decided by the end of May.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who is here for the annual WEF meeting, has met four contenders from Costa Rica, Mexico, New Zealand and Indonesia here.
'Sharma welcomed their candidature and expressed Indias stand regarding need for a Director General who is from the developing country and is committed to the development dimension of WTO negotiations,' the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.
There are nine candidates in the race for the WTO Director General's post that falls vacant on 31 August when Pascal Lamy is due to step down.
Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Minister Anabel Gonzalez, Mexican Economy Minister Hermino Blanco Mendoza, New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser and Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu met Sharma and have sought India's support for the post, it said.
Meanwhile, in a session, Sharma said that the delay in conclusion of the Doha Round is impacting the global economy.
'This the only round of trade talks that is focused on developmental agenda and it has taken the longest. The delay is definitely impacting or injuring the global economy,' he said.
Differences between rich and developing nations have been a stumbling block in the conclusion of the talks, which were started in 2001. India and other developing nations are defending their agricultural markets to protect millions of subsistence farmers from easy imports that may result from the multilateral agreement.
'We will meaningfully engage with the US on this. The countries that are negotiating need to work on this,' he said.
Indonesian Trade Minister Wirjawan said: 'The Doha Round has some oxygen as long as we stick to focus on low-hanging fruits, and India will play a big part in making the meeting in Bali a big success'.
INVESTORS INSIST ON TOO MUCH FROM INDIA: KAMAL NATH
Emphasising that India has seen large number of reforms in recent years, Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday said that even a lull in activities is taken as paralysis since expectations from investors are too high.
Nath, who is leading the Indian delegation at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting here, also said that even the US or Europe would not have seen as many reforms that happened in India.
'India has had a large number of reforms in recent years and it would be largest for any country. No country has had as much liberalisation as India, be it the US or Europe. 'The stress in Europe did have some impact and therefore there was a lull which was taken as a paralysis because people think that India cannot see even a lull. This signal was wrong that needs to be corrected,' Nath said. He was speaking at a session hosted by CII and Boston Consulting group on the sidelines of the WEF meet.
In response to a query on why not much foreign investments are coming into India's infrastructure and other sectors, Nath opined that 'investors expect too much from India'. 'There is a psyche that has developed that either there is bloom or doom. There is no middle path on expectations from India and therefore just a lull has been taken as doom.
Because of this, even a small dip in growth rate in profits is perceived to be very bad as there has been very high growth in the past,' Nath, also in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, said.
India expects to see about $1 trillion investments in infrastructure in the next five years to boost economic growth. Nath, a key player in pushing FDI reforms in Parliament, noted that government needs to play a role in regulations. (PTI)
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who is here for the annual WEF meeting, has met four contenders from Costa Rica, Mexico, New Zealand and Indonesia here.
'Sharma welcomed their candidature and expressed Indias stand regarding need for a Director General who is from the developing country and is committed to the development dimension of WTO negotiations,' the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.
There are nine candidates in the race for the WTO Director General's post that falls vacant on 31 August when Pascal Lamy is due to step down.
Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Minister Anabel Gonzalez, Mexican Economy Minister Hermino Blanco Mendoza, New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser and Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu met Sharma and have sought India's support for the post, it said.
Meanwhile, in a session, Sharma said that the delay in conclusion of the Doha Round is impacting the global economy.
'This the only round of trade talks that is focused on developmental agenda and it has taken the longest. The delay is definitely impacting or injuring the global economy,' he said.
Differences between rich and developing nations have been a stumbling block in the conclusion of the talks, which were started in 2001. India and other developing nations are defending their agricultural markets to protect millions of subsistence farmers from easy imports that may result from the multilateral agreement.
'We will meaningfully engage with the US on this. The countries that are negotiating need to work on this,' he said.
Indonesian Trade Minister Wirjawan said: 'The Doha Round has some oxygen as long as we stick to focus on low-hanging fruits, and India will play a big part in making the meeting in Bali a big success'.
INVESTORS INSIST ON TOO MUCH FROM INDIA: KAMAL NATH
Emphasising that India has seen large number of reforms in recent years, Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday said that even a lull in activities is taken as paralysis since expectations from investors are too high.
Nath, who is leading the Indian delegation at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting here, also said that even the US or Europe would not have seen as many reforms that happened in India.
'India has had a large number of reforms in recent years and it would be largest for any country. No country has had as much liberalisation as India, be it the US or Europe. 'The stress in Europe did have some impact and therefore there was a lull which was taken as a paralysis because people think that India cannot see even a lull. This signal was wrong that needs to be corrected,' Nath said. He was speaking at a session hosted by CII and Boston Consulting group on the sidelines of the WEF meet.
In response to a query on why not much foreign investments are coming into India's infrastructure and other sectors, Nath opined that 'investors expect too much from India'. 'There is a psyche that has developed that either there is bloom or doom. There is no middle path on expectations from India and therefore just a lull has been taken as doom.
Because of this, even a small dip in growth rate in profits is perceived to be very bad as there has been very high growth in the past,' Nath, also in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, said.
India expects to see about $1 trillion investments in infrastructure in the next five years to boost economic growth. Nath, a key player in pushing FDI reforms in Parliament, noted that government needs to play a role in regulations. (PTI)
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