The Hindu Business Line : `Agreement vital to boost world economy'

THE Chairperson and Mexican Foreign Minister, Mr Luis Ernesto Derbez, said that he was very concerned as to whether members are willing to work together to reach a consensus, after hearing the viewpoints of various trade ministers on the draft text released by him earlier on Saturday.

Stating that given the time left before the end of the Cancun ministerial — less than 24 hours, Mr Derbez said that he understood that ministers sought to put their positions on the record and this did not worry him. But he was concerned if the ministers were willing to let the process fail.

"Agreement is needed in order to give the world economy a boost," he said adding, "if this meeting fails the only winners will be the enemies of the trading system."

Mr Derbez said that the text is still a draft and its aim is to help put together all the insights gained through various modes of consultations with a view to putting together an overall package that would win broad acceptance.

Describing this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity, he warned that if Cancun fails, the negotiations might take a long time to come. Mr Derbez and the Director-General of WTO, Dr Supachai Pantichpakadi, have begun consultations with smaller group of ministers and would reconvene the heads of delegation meeting at around noon on Sunday to wrap up the conference.

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