JAITLEY SAYS NO TO NEGOTIATIONS ON SINGAPORE
ISSUES CLARIFICATORY PROCESS MUST CONTINUE
Mr.
Arun Jaitley, Minister of Commerce & Industry, has reiterated
that the time is not yet ripe for commencing negotiations in the
WTO on the Singapore issues, including investment and said that
the clarificatory process on all four issues must continue till
an explicit consensus is reached among member countries on the
modalities to be adopted before starting the negotiations as mandated
in the Doha Declaration. Referring to Singapore issues as the
most significant development of the day, the Minister, who is
leading the Indian delegation to the Cancun Ministerial Conference
of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), noted that as many as 16
developing countries, including India and China, had successfully
forged a coalition on these issues, sharing the perception that
there is no explicit consensus yet on the modalities for negotiations.
Speaking at a
bilateral meeting with Mr. Takeo Hiranuma, Minister of Economy,
Trade & Industry and Yuriko Kawaguchi, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Japan, Mr. Jaitley appreciated Japanīs concerns but
underlined that India shared the perception of a large number
of countries that further discussions were needed on these issues
before commencing negotiations. He said that not only India but
a large number of countries had expressed themselves in favour
of deferring the modalities for some time and addressing the need
for further clarifications on the scope and content of these issues.
He also pointed to the big debate on whether a multilateral agreement
could by itself ensure higher FDI inflows into a country and cited
the example of China which had managed to attract large inflows
even before its accession to the multilateral trading system.
