§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will urge the WTO to commit itself to achieving the international development targets at the next round of WTO negotiations. [11150]
§ Clare ShortThe UK Government believe that the WTO should commit itself to achieving the international development targets. This would send a strong message772W that the WTO is part of the fight against poverty and that its promotion of trade liberalisation is a means for development, rather than an end in itself.
§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proposal the United Kingdom Government plans to make at the next multilateral round of WTO negotiations to ensure that it is a development round. [11479]
§ Clare ShortThe UK Government are committed to pushing for a development round of trade negotiations at the WTO, to be launched at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, 9 to 13 November. This should bring substantial benefits to developing countries, particularly by increasing their access to markets for products of interest to them, such as agriculture and textiles. We are pushing for an agenda for the negotiations that will satisfy the varying needs of developing countries. Once such a round is launched we will continue to work hard for an outcome that will benefit the poor in developing countries.