WTO Asks APEC Members Not to Give up Doha Round

By Aditya ES Wicaksono Surabaya, E Java (Antara) - Deputy Director General of World Trade Organization (WTO) Alejandro Jara called on member economies of APEC to increase their work pace towards and not to give up the long-stalled Doha Round. "The members should intensify their work and change the pace for the Doha Round," Alejandro Jara said here Saturday in a press conference on the sidelines of the APEC Minister Responsible for Trade Meeting. The WTO spokesperson put a great expectation on the APEC members to proceed the direction to concluding the Doha Round. "Here in APEC, the communique will reflect political will of the members to proceed to that direction (Doha Round)... The size and the political burden of the economies have huge influence such as providing energy and leadership," Jara said. Concluding the Doha Round, launched by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, is crucial for narrowing the historical gap between agricultural and manufactured goods trade. However, its negotiation in 2008 broke down after failing to reach a compromise on agriculture import rules. "The negotiations in WTO is never easy," Jara said hoping that the ninth WTO Ministerial Conference held in Bali in December will deliver a breakthrough to cross the path of the final pace for the support for Doha Round. Previously on Friday (April 19), Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan also expected the APEC meetings could give contributions to the continuation of Doha Round negotiation. "The agenda of the Trade-Related Ministerial meeting in Surabaya will hopefully set up a stepping stone towards the continuation of Doha Round talk," Minister Gita Wirjawan said. Gita also called on the APEC economies to ensure its movement towards the realization of the Bogor Goals by 2020 when trade liberalization is among the main points emphasized in it.(*) (T.A059/A/A.E.S. Wicaksono/B. Purwanto)