Ranjana Narayan | 21 Nov, 2012
India is for successful conclusion of the stalled Doha round of the global trade talks and is willing to work with all stakeholders to take it forward, said Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
Addressing the media on board the special aircraft returning home after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, Sharma said that India at the East Asia summit had urged the need to "revitalize the Doha WTO negotiations to put in place a rule based multi lateral trade regime in order to revive the global economy".
"India feels that protectionism and not completing the WTO negotiations will cause further damage to the world economy," he stressed.
The Doha round "is the longest negotiations in the history of global negotiations".
"It has never happened that any round has ever been aborted... and India has the conviction that this round has to be taken to an early and successful conclusion and we are committed to work with all the stakeholders and negotiating partners," he said.
He said the Doha round was held up by two processes involving two of the biggest world economies - the US presidential polls and the once-in-a decade leadership change in China.
"With the two major processes over hope the US will now re-engage in the process which got stalled in January, he added.
He said India is committed to complete it in a single undertaking.
