WTO Chief in India
Legal Corner Icon — the image was hosted by the publisher and was not captured.DIRECTOR General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo was in New Delhi yesterday. He had a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
While recognising the importance of Trade Facilitation (TF) and upgrading infrastructure at border, ports and custom procedures for giving a boost to exports, Sharma underscored the need for addressing the concerns of food security which have been outlined in a proposal presented by G-33 countries. He observed that food security is the most fundamental of human needs and the lack of it can have profound ramifications as seen during the food price volatility and crises of recent years. He urged Azevêdo to persuade all parties to discuss the food security proposal constructively.
With less than 10 weeks remaining before the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the WTO in December 2013, Sharma and Azevêdo had a detailed discussion on the issues being negotiated for an outcome in the Bali Conference.
Anand Sharma assured the DG of India's cooperation in striving to achieve a balanced outcome at Bali and an early resolution of remaining issues in the DDA post-Bali.