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Singapore to host informal WTO meeting October 13-14

Singapore will host an informal ministerial meeting next week to help efforts by the World Trade Organisation to launch a new round of global free trade talks, a ministry of trade and industry official said on Wednesday.

The official could not provide further details on the meeting scheduled for October 13-14, including who is to take part in the meeting.

The 142 members of the WTO are due to meet in Doha, Qatar, from November 9-13 in a bid to start a new round of global trade liberalisation talks, two years after a similar WTO meeting in Seattle failed to do so.

Many developing countries have recently voiced disappointment over an outline of an eight-page draft of a declaration due to be issued by ministers after the Qatar meeting, which was circulated to delegations at the WTO in Geneva last week.

The WTO has also circulated a longer outline of how long-standing complaints from poorer countries could be tackled. These issues include access for their goods to Western markets and what they see as the excessive speed with which they are expected to implement earlier WTO pacts.

The two documents were drawn up by the current chairman of the WTO's ruling General Council, Hong Kong's ambassador Stuart Harbinson, after months of discussion with envoys in Geneva.

Endorsed by WTO director general Mike Moore, they are intended to help clear the way for agreement in Qatar on kicking off a fresh round of free trade talks to build on earlier agreements over the past 50 years on opening world markets.

At a WTO General Council meeting on Monday, due to continue this week, envoys from India, Malaysia, Zimbabwe and Honduras said the drafts did not go far enough in meeting their concerns.

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