West should break Doha deadlock: India

India has asked the developed world to modify their stand on market access to the developing countries to make progress on the Doha Round.

"Progress (on Doha talks) could be achieved rapidly by placing development firmly back on the agenda, tempering the demands for additional market access into the developing countries by the development mandate, rather than the mercantilist expectations of the rich developed countries," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said here last night.

Addressing WTO Ministerial here, Sharma cautioned that in the process of bridging gaps, the broad understandings of the past eight years should not be reversed. He, however, said the major focus of the engagement on the Doha talks for the last three months had been on just peripheral issues at the cost of main areas of negotiations.

Trade ministers of almost all the 153 WTO member-states are meeting here for three days, which started yesterday, to discuss reforms of the WTO functioning and review the global economy recovering from

The Doha Round is likely to dominate the 7th WTO ministerial opening here today, though hardcore negotiations for a deal are not on the agenda.

The Doha Round of WTO talks was earlier stalled after difference over subsidies given by developed world to their farmers and their insistence on opening the global farm trade.

Sharma observed that globalisation could only retain its legitimacy if it works for all, especially the poorest.

While addressing the ministerial meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) in Geneva, he expressed satisfaction at the resilience shown by the Saarc member-countries during the economic crisis and their concern over the protectionist measures adopted by some of the developed nations.

Also, Saarc ministers called on all WTO members to refrain from taking any protectionist measures or raising trade barriers.

Sharma also also attended the first trilateral meeting of India, South African Customs Union (SACU) and MERCOSUR (a customs union of Argentina, Brazil, India Paraguay and Uruguay). The ministers of these regions emphasised that growing cooperation among India, SACU and MERCOSUR would contribute to enhance relations among them in the developing world.

Meanwhile, Sharma also met his Chinese counterpart Chen Deming and discussed about the conclusion of the Doha Round by 2010 and both sides observed substantial progress was necessary before another ministerial meeting would be considered. They also decided to meet in Beijing in January for the Indo-China Joint Economic Commission.