BackKey WTO members likely to meet at Davos next week
World economic scenario, issues related to Doha Round of negotiations for a global trade deal to be discussed
Premium
New Delhi: Trade ministers from key WTO member countries, including India, are expected to meet at Davos in Switzerland next week to discuss the world economic scenario and issues related with Doha Round of negotiations for a global trade deal.
Besides India’s commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma and Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Pascal Lamy, other WTO members which are likely to attend the meeting include Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil and China.
The meeting may be held at the sidelines of the annual event of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The five-day WEF meeting will start from 23 January.
“Sharma is likely to attend an informal WTO ministerial to discuss the trends in Doha Round of negotiations," an official statement said.
Big differences between developing and developed countries have plagued the WTO talks, which were launched in 2001 in Doha, Qatar’s capital, with the goal of helping poor countries prosper through enhanced trade.
The statement also said the commerce and industry ministry has designed a special campaign to highlight India’s image on the global platform. The theme of the campaign is ‘Land of Limitless Opportunities: India Beckons the World´. “We view this (WEF) as an opportunity to showcase the opportunities in India and position India as an attractive investment destination," the statement quoting Sharma said.
Further, it said Sharma will meet the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) trade ministers.
The meeting will set ground for the BRICS Summit and trade ministers meeting to be held in Durban in March.
Sharma will also hold bilateral meetings and will meet his counterparts from countries including Indonesia, South Africa, Switzerland, South Korea, Kazakhstan and New Zealand to review the bilateral ties.
At the WEF, Sharma will convey the measures for liberalization of FDI (foreign direct investment) regime in India and major initiatives for creating massive industrial infrastructure such as DMIC and NMIZs, the statement added.
Besides, the minister will have meeting with about 20 business global leaders including from TESCO, Standard Chartered, Diageo, Novartis, Merck, Unilever and Philips. Indian government and the country’s corporates will be strongly represented at the annual WEF, which would also be attended by nearly 50 government heads including UK’s David Cameron, Germany’s Angela Merkel and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia.
The Indian delegation, comprising of about 100 business and political leaders, would be headed by Union Minister Kamal Nath.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
