Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal discussed reviving the dispute settlement mechanism and special dispensation for developing countries in a meeting with WTO Director General Ngozo Okonjo-Iweala on Wednesday.

“I was having a discussion with the WTO DG. It is important to revive the dispute settlement mechanism that has been dysfunctional for several years,” he said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

The Minister stressed on the need for the WTO to ensure that the WTO continues to differentiate between the developing and developed nations on responsibilities.

“During WTO’s inception, the thought was that division of responsibility should be done keeping in mind the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR). This means that countries should be given responsibility according to their growth potential,” he said.

The Ministers reiteration of the basic WTO principles is important given the fact that many developed nations have been moving away from the concept of differential responsibilities while discussing important issues related to agriculture and goods for the forthcoming WTO Ministerial Conference (MC 13) in February next year.

India will continue to be the voice of the Global South at the WTO MC 13, he said.

India and several other developing countries are demanding a permanent solution for the problem of public procurement subsidies so that they don’t have to worry about breaching subsidy limits while feeding their poor.

(The travel for the correspondent has been sponsored by the Commerce & Industry Ministry)

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