WTO rules must not hamper efforts to deal with food security challenges: SJM

Ahead of the WTO's mini-ministerial meeting, the RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch today said the global trade body's rules must not come in the way of addressing food security challenges faced by developing countries such as India.

It also urged member nations to find a permanent solution to the issue.

Amid rising protectionism among developed countries, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) urged the Indian government to utilise the meeting to raise systemic and substantive issues, which assume great significance for the country.

In a letter to Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, SJM co-convener Ashwani Mahajan said many countries, including the US and other developed nations, were pushing for bringing new issues on negotiation table.

"The mini-ministerial meeting must reiterate that any negotiations on new issues must be started only if there is an explicit consensus among all WTO members. Even if India has to stand alone for protecting its national interest, it must not hesitate in doing so," he wrote.

India is hosting a two-day WTO informal ministerial meeting from tomorrow to finalise a way ahead for the multilateral trade body after talks fell through at the eleventh ministerial conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires in December.

Trade ministers from around 55 countries have been invited to the meeting representing diverse interest groups.

Mahajan also requested that the joint statement issued after the meeting "must reflect the emphasis that WTO rules must not come in the way of governments addressing food security challenge."