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Meetings and Conferences > Background Note on Ministerial Meeting held on 3-4 September, 2009 in New Delhi

MINISTERIAL MEETING ON

RE-ENERGISING DOHA: A COMMITMENT TO DEVELOPMENT

NEW DELHI

3-4 SEPTEMBER 2009

Background

Following the impasse in the talks at the mini-Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) held in July 2008, the general opinion amongst WTO Members was that the negotiations should resume at the earliest opportunity. Informal small group discussions took place in September 2008. Multilateral discussions resumed at the WTO in October 2008 and continued through the month of November.

2. The Director General (DG), WTO made a strong push for convening another Ministerial meeting in December 2008 for finalising modalities for Agriculture and Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA). Several Members expressed their reservations on calling Ministers to Geneva with so many issues remaining unresolved. In the US, many voices were raised against a Ministerial meeting. Some important and influential members of the US Congress also urged the Bush Administration not to support the DG’s plans for a Ministerial. India too expressed reservations about convening another Ministerial meeting in haste given the large number of unresolved issues.

3. The Chairs of the Negotiating Groups on Agriculture and NAMA brought out the fourth revisions of draft modalities for Agriculture and NAMA on 6 December 2008.

4. The DG subsequently decided against convening a Ministerial. He proposed the resumption of work in the Negotiating Groups early in 2009, using as a starting point, the revised draft modalities for Agriculture and NAMA issued on 6 December 2008.

Political Calls for Resumption of the Doha Round

5. The talks are yet to resume formally after the winter break in December. However, the Doha Round has been on the agenda of several major international meetings held in the recent past including meetings of the G-20 on 15 November 2008 and 2 April 2009; the Cairns Group meeting in Bali, Indonesia from 7 to 9 June 2009; the informal meeting of Trade Ministers on the occasion of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in June 2009; the G-8 plus 5 meeting in L’Aquila from 8 to10 July 2009; and the APEC Trade Ministers’ meeting in Singapore on 21-22 July 2009. These occasions have been used by the DG, WTO and others to press for early resumption of talks.

Objective of the Delhi Meeting

6. The pronouncements by Ministers and Heads of State and Governments at various international meetings signal considerable political enthusiasm for an early conclusion of the Doha Round though in some quarters skepticism has been expressed on the anticipated outcome. The Delhi Ministerial meeting in September was intended to help to convert this spontaneous expression of will into commitment so as to re-energise the multilateral process at the WTO.

7. India is committed to a rule-based multilateral trade regime that is fair and equitable. Multilateralism best serves the needs of developing countries and must be strengthened particularly in this time of economic crisis. An early conclusion of the Doha Round is necessary not only to give a stimulus to the global economy but also to support the Least Developed Countries and Small and Vulnerable Economies and to counter the inevitable tendency of most countries to resort to protectionist measures.

8. The meeting was as an informal ministerial meeting and should be distinguished from ministerial meetings which are convened by the WTO.

9. The objective of the meeting is to create political consensus to get the Doha Round back on track so that a multilateral process of discussion can resume at the WTO. Accordingly, discussions on specific areas of the negotiations are not envisaged.

India’s Stand

10. India is strongly in favour of a fair and equitable rule-based multilateral trade regime, therefore, we are keen to conclude the Doha Round early. We support resumption of the multilateral negotiations at an early date based on the following:

(a) The draft text of 6 December in respect to agriculture and NAMA should be the basis on which further negotiations are held. A substantial amount of work has gone into preparing these texts and there is no reason to review them or to introduce new elements into these texts.

(b) Development in the developing countries is at the core of these negotiations. Food and livelihood security of the poor is critical to developing countries and cannot be compromised under any circumstances.

(c) All issues being discussed in the negotiations are part of a single undertaking; therefore, adequate balance amongst major issues has to be ensured in the agreement.

Invitees

11. All members of the G-20 alliance of developing countries were invited as this group and had been a major driving force in the negotiations. Apart from the G-20, country coordinators of other groups active in the negotiations as well as some key players such as the US, Australia and New Zealand were invited. Other invitees were the Director General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy and the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups on Agriculture, Non-agricultural Market Access and Services. A list of invitees is attached as Annex 1. Participation in the meeting was in the ‘Minister plus 2’ format.

Tentative Programme

12. The Ministerial meeting commenced by mid-day on 3 September and closed by the evening of 4 September. This was preceded by a meeting of Senior Officials on 2 September 2009.

13. The visiting Ministers called on the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 4 September 2009.

Annex I: List of participants in the informal Ministerial Meeting

Country/ Organisation	Minister/ Minister rank	Senior Officials	Accompanying Officials
ARGENTINA	H.E. Jorge Enrique Taiana Minister of External Relations, International Commerce and Worship Buenos Aires	Mr Alfredo Chiaradia Mr Alberto Dumont	Ms Mariana Llorente Ms Florencia Colombo Mr Eduardo Ruben Tempone Mr. Francisco Lopez Achaval
AUSTRALIA	H.E. Simon Crean Minister of Trade Canberra	Mr Peter Gray Mr Bruce Gosper	Mr Benjamin Craig Simon Newnham Andrew Martin (not regd) Mr Clinton Porteous David Holly
BARBADOS		Mr Trevor Clarke
BOLIVIA	H.E. Pablo Guzman Laugier, Vice Minister	Ms Angelica Navarro
BRAZIL	H.E. Celso Luiz Nunez Amorim Minister of External Relations Brasilia	Mr Roberto Azevedo Mr Carlos Marcio Cozendey	1. Mr. Paulo Estivallet de Mesquita 2. Mr. Braz Baracuhy 3. Mr. Marco Brandao 4. Mr. Pedro Terra 5. Mr. Jose Carlos Fonseca 6. Ms Christiana Lamazière 7. Mr Krishnan Kumar 8. Mr. Sergio Carvalho 9. Ms. Marcela Pompeu Sogocio 10. Mr. Flavio Werneck 11. Mrs Maria Laura da Rocha 12. Mr. Sergio Santos 13. Mr. Mauricio Lyrio 14. Mr. Pedro Saldanha 15. Mr. Juliano Maia
BURKINA FASO	H.E. Mamadou Sanou Minister of Commerce Ouagadougou	Mr Prosper Vokouma Mr Seriba Ouattara	Mr Idriss Raoua Ouedraogo
CANADA	H.E. Gerald Keddy, Parliamentary Secretary	Mr Gilles Gauthier Mr Don Stephenson	Ms Sarah McLean Mr. Mark Strasser
CHILE	H.E Carlos Furche, Vice Minister of External Trade	Mr Mario Matus Mr Alvaro Espinoza	Mr. Emilio Araya Mr. Nestor Riveros Mr Alfonso Silva
CHINA	H.E. Chen Deming Minister of Commerce Beijing	Ms. Xiaolin Chai Mr. Zhenyu Sun	Mr. Zengbin Zhou Ms. Yan Xiong Mr. Wei Peng Mr. Rongkai Chen Mr. Xiaoxu Han Mr. Wentao Liang Mr. Xiang Xia Mr. Ning He Mr. Yongfu Sun Mr. Lei Luo Mr. Dianxun Liu mr. Huaxue wang Mr. Gang Peng Mr. Hao Chen Mrs. Lei Gao Mr. Dashui He Mrs. Yao Yu Mr. Changsheng Hou Mrs. Yizhuo Zhang Mr. Yandi Tang Ms. Jin Yu Mr. Yiting Wan Mr. Jingjie Fu Mr. Wen Cao Mr. Lichun Zhou Mr. Jiannan Liu
CUBA		Mr Eduardo Iglesias Quintana Mr Ferrer Rodriguez
EC	H.E. Baroness Catherine Ashton European Commissioner for Trade European Communities, Brussels H.E. Mariann Fischer Boel Agriculture Commissioner	Mr. David O Sullivan Mr. James Morrison Mr. Klaus-Dieter Borchardt Mr. Jean-Luc Demarty	Mr. Gwilym Jones Mr. Lutz Guellner Mr. Denis Redonnet Mr. Michael Mann Mr. Robert Norris Mr. Douglas Brew Mr. Eric Peters Mr. Daniele Smadja Mr Carsten Sorensen Mr Sunil Kumar Mr Carlos Bermejo-Acosta Mr Teodora Figueira
ECUADOR	H.E. Fander Falconi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Integration Quito H.E. Diego Borjas, Minister	Mr Carlos Abad Mr Cesar Montano	Ms Cecilia Gutierrez Mr Cristian Mancheno
EGYPT	H.E. Rachid Mohamed Rachid Minister of Trade and Industry Cairo	Dr Samiha Fawzy Mr Hesham Badr	1. Mr Walid El Nozahy 2. Ms Eman refaat Nasr 3. Ms Azza kamal Ahmed 4. Mr Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed 5. Mr Sherif Mohamed Sameh 6. Mr.Muhammad Abdullah 7. Mr.Tarek Kashwaa
INDONESIA	H.E. Ms Mari Elka Pangestu Minister of Trade Jakarta	Mr Gusmardi Bustami Ms Sondang Anggraini	Ms Ranitya Kusumadewi Mr Erwidodo Mr Antonius Yudi Triantoro Mr. Deny Wachyudi Kurnia Mr. Tonny Hendriawan
JAPAN		Mr Ishige Hiroyuki, Vice Minister Mr. Shuji Yamada Vice Minister	1. Ms Munakata Naoko 2. Mr. Toshiro Iijima 3. Mr. Shin Yokoyama 4. Mr. Kazuhiro Takahashi 5. Mr Suzuki Hideo 6. Mr. Tsutomu Himeno 1. Mr Nikai Naoya 2. Mr Akiyama Takeshi 3. Mr Okada Hideichi 4. Mr Takashina Jun 5. Mr Sashida Takaaki 6. Mr. Shigezane Saneshige 7. Ms Yano Chieko 8. Ms Omori Hiroko 9. Mr. Osamu Hashiramoto 10. Mr. Yoshitomo Kondo 11. Mr Watanabe Tetsuya 12. Mr Hattori Keiji 13. Mr Miura kenji 14. Mr Toyofuku Kenichiro 15. Mr Takahashi rou 16. Mr Nonaka Teiichiro 17. Mr Uchida Ryoji 18. Mr Saito Daisaku 19. Mr Tada Akihiro 20. Mr. Kentaro Nishi 21. Mr. Masayuki Yamashita 22. Mr. Hirofumi Uchida 23. Mr. Takashi Sadakane 24. Mr. Shigeki Omura 25. Mr. Kosuke Ikeda 26. Mr. Minoru Yamamoto 27. Mr. Kazuhiro Shimane 28. Ms. Yuko Masaki 29. Mr. Yasuo Sasaki 30. Mr. Koryo Onuma 31. Mr. Takuma Nakagawa (not attending) 32. Mr. Akira Hayashida 33. Mr. Ko Hikasa 34. Mr. Masatsugu Okita 35. Mr. Satoru Komuta 36. Ms. Mitsuko Sumita 37. Ms. Keiko Tominaga 38. Mr. Fumiaki Sano 39. Mr. Keishii Tokuda 40. Mr. Shinobu Yoshimura 41. Mr. Masaki Yasumatsu 42. Mr. Shinichi Kitajima
MALAYSIA	H.E. Yb Dato Mustapa Bin Mohamed Minister of International Trade and Industry Kuala Lumpur	Dr Rebecca Fatima Maria Ms Hiswani Harun	1. Dr Sarinder Kumari Oam Prakash 2. Mr Muthafa Yosaf 3. Mr Wan Mazlan Wan Mahmood 4. Mr Mohs Noor Rahid Mat Taharim 5. Ms Sumathi Balakrishnan 6. Mr Mohs Nizam Mohd Khir 7. Mr. Mohamed Irwan Mansor
MAURITIUS	H.E. Dr Arvin Boolell Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade Port Louis	Mr Servansing Shree Baboo Mr. Mookhesswur Choonee	Mr Khemraj Jingree Mr Vikash Neethalia
MEXICO		Mr Fernando De Mateo	Mr. Javier Basulto
NEW ZEALAND	H.E. Tim Groser Minister of Trade Wellington	Mr Nigel Donald Fyfe Mr Reuben Anthony Joannes Levermore	Mr Rupert Holborow Mr John Subrinsky Ramita Kumar Michelle Wanwimolruk
NIGÉRIA	H.E. Chief Achike Udenwa Minister of Commerce and Industry Abuja	A.B. Abhikoye Mr David Adulugba
PAKISTAN		Mr. Suleman Ghani Dr Tashfeen Khan	Mr Shahid Malik Mr Mohammed Anwar Khan Mr Syed Zulfikar Gardezi Mr Shah Zaman Khan Mr Babar Amin Mr Imran Haider Mr Akhtar Ali Khan
PERU		Mr. Carlos Alberto Yrigoyen Forno Mr Paul Duclos
PHILIPPINES	H.E. Thomas Aquino Senior Undersecretary	Dr. Segfredo Serrano Ambassador Manuel A.J. Teehankee	Francisco Benedicto Iric Arribas Raymond Batac Vichael Angelo Roaring
SOUTH KOREA	H.E.. Jong-Hoon KIM, Minister for Trade Seoul	Mr Sung Joo Lee Mr Seok Young Choi
SOUTH AFRICA	H.E. Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry, Pretoria	Mr Xavier Carim Mr Faisel Ismail	Ms Gerda Van Dijk Mr Jardine Omar Francis Moloi
SWITZERLAND	H.E. Doris Leuthard Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (FDEA) Berne	Ms Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch Mr Jacques Chavaz	Mr Phillipe Welti Mr Dainel Freihofer Ms Sandra Lauchli
TANZANIA	H.E. Mary Nagu, Minister for Trade Industry and Marketing Dar-es- Salaam	Mr Marten Lumbanga Mr Mohamed Dewji
THAÏLAND	H.E. Porntiva Nakasai Minister of Commerce Bangkok	Ms Nuntawan Sakuntanaga Ms Nisa Srisuworanant	Mr Somkiat Triratpan Mr Tanapat Chaijaroienpat Mr Anurat Khokasai Mr Thanaporn Sruyakul Mr Somwang Jarasjanyawat Mr Satish Sehgal Ms Pimchanok Vonkhorporn Mr Niwat Apichartbutra Mr Pathkamol Dattibongs Ms Parima Damrithamanij
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO	H.E. Mariano Browne Trade and Industry Minister, Port of Spain	Mr Randall Karim	Ms Urvashi Ramnarine Ms Kiva Clarke
URUGUAY	H.E. Nelson Fernandez, Vice Minister	Mr Guillermo Valles Mr Cesar Ferrer
USA	H.E.Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative Washington	Mr Matt Rohde Mr Mike Delaney	Mr. Deepak Malhotra Mr. Unni Menon Mr. R P Bhattacharya Ms. Gandhi Sudha Ms. Elizabeth Fitzsimmons Mr. Torrey Goad Ms. Meena Sanyal Ms. Nicole Weber Mr. William Glady Mr. Eric Truitt Mr. Eric Fried Mr. John Corso Mr. Anthony Opie Mr Brett Rosenthal Ms. Carol Guthrie Ms. Devorah Adler
WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION	Mr Pascal Lamy, Director General Ambassador David Walker, Chairman of the Special Session of Committee on Agriculture Ambassador Lucius Wasescha, Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Market Access Ambassador Fernando de Mateo Chairman of the Services Negotiating Group		Ms Arancha Gonzalez Laya
ZIMBABWE	Prof. Welshman Ncubi Minister of Industry Harare	Ms J.H. Nyakatawa	Passmore Chimanikire