WTO Bali talks extends, Sharma cancels India return

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Friday cancelled his return trip to India, as talks gained momentum over the proposed 'Peace Clause' during the ninth Ministerial Conference (MC9) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the quaint Indonesian island resort.

It seemed that the key countries urged for an extension of the talks delaying the closing session to an indefinite period.

With a bright sunrise amidst a roaring sea, hopes of a possible breakthrough in the talks reached nadir. India's ambassador to the WTO and permanent mission Jayant Dasgupta was seen having a brainstroming session with his American counterpart Michael Punke. It was a follow-up to last night's guarded meeting between Sharma and US Trade Representative Michael Froman that went on deep into the night.

Late in the afternoon, Sharma was seen rushing to the informal round of talks of all heads of state. He was belived to have a second round of meeting with WTO DG Roberto Azevêdo and the Europeans who have criticised India's food security programme severely. However, as news of a sudden demise of South African apartheid crusader and former President Nelson Mandela started trickling in, the mood seemed to have turned slightly sombre at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre (BNDCC) where members were fiercely fighting it out.

"We are at it ... Food security is the centrally important issue and so is trade facilitation. Most of the other things are in pretty stable condition although in the parlance of WTO, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. This (interim topermanent) is one of the solutions being discussed. Not everyone accepts that perspective so trying to find a way to give everybody a degree of comfort is something which is very central tot he work of DG. It is impossible to create a situation where everybody gets everything they want," said Keith Rockwell, spokesperson of the Geneva-based WTO.

He, however, hinted that the situation inside the negotiating room was "flexible", though "India is fighting for its interest with vigour. They are very experienced negotiators and they are working very hard. It's the same with all other players who are negotiating the same issue.”

As dawn set in, it seemed the WTO was working on a new framework to bring out another Bali "mini" package which will only have the negotiating texts on agricultural subsidies and trade facilitation.

While talks of a G33 breaking down ran the rumour mills, India seemed to have lost support of even of its newly found allies in the African continent, thus weakening India's position even further. Joining the echo against India was its meighbour and archrival Pakistan, which vehemently had opposed food stockpiling schemes.