SME Times News Bureau | 21 Feb, 2018
The
Commerce Ministry
organised a 2-day brainstorming
meeting on WTO during
19-20
February, to
discuss the WTO in the post-MC11 phase.
A
two-day brainstorming meeting on WTO in the Post-MC11 Phase was
organised by the Department of Commerce and the Centre for WTO
Studies on 19-20 February, said
a commece ministry official release.
The
participants included representatives from industry, government,
academia, think tanks, civil society and trade policy experts.
The
objective of organising this 2-day brainstorming was to consult as
widely as possible to elicit views on the WTO in the post-MC11 phase.
The
agenda was comprehensive, covering a wide range of issues such as
Agriculture, Services, Investment Facilitation,
E-commerce,Institutional Issues, Development, MSMEs and Gender.
The
meeting witnessed large participation and a frank and intensive
exchange of views on all issues, both in the current negotiating
agenda of the WTO as well as the issues being proposed for future
negotiations by some countries.
In
his remarks, the Commerce and Industry Minister expressed great
satisfaction at the depth and breadth of issues discussed and the
insights provided by the participants.
He
emphasised that special and differential treatment remains a critical
aspect of the WTO's framework and this is non-negotiable for India.
While
some of the new issues being raised by others may also be of
relevance to India, existing issues such as agriculture are critical
livelihood issues, which are extremely important for India, he added.
He
emphasised the critical importance of the WTO and drew attention to
Prime Minister's remarks at Davos on the importance of
multilateralism.
Reflecting
on India's long membership of GATT/WTO, the Minister stated that
India plays a key role in ensuring the continued relevance of the
WTO, as this is in the best interest of all countries, without
exception.