§ 15. Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the progress of world trade negotiations, as they affect less developed countries. [151177]
Mr. Gareth ThomasThere have been intensive informal discussions since the Cancun ministerial meeting between Perez del Castillo, chair of the WTO Governing Council, and the various WTO delegations in Geneva, to try to resolve the outstanding issues left over from the Ministerial. However, del Castillo reported to the senior officials meeting on 15 December that these discussions had not achieved their objective.
Despite this, I am encouraged by the statements made by all WTO members that they remain committed to a resumption of talks and to the ambitions of the Doha Development Agenda. The expected increase in global welfare from a reduction of trade barriers will be shared by both developing and developed countries. It is in all our interest that we make progress with the trade negotiations and bring them to a successful conclusion.