New trade round must address needs of poor - Annan
( 2001-11-10 11:53 ) (7 )

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday urged world trade ministers to launch a fresh round of talks that meets the needs of developing countries, saying a global recession would have a devastating impact on poorer nations.

"If ever there was a time when broad agreement on the rules of the international trading system was vitally needed, among nations rich and poor, that time is now," Annan said in a statement read on his behalf at the opening session of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Qatar.

WTO chief Mike Moore and key trade ministers said they saw encouraging prospects for launching a new round of talks on further liberalising world trade to help prevent global recession, following the September 11 attacks on the United States which have sent many economies into a tailspin.

A divide between rich and poor countries is set to dominate the meeting, the first since a previous attempt to launch a fresh round of talks collapsed in Seattle in 1999.

The UN Secretary General said eliminating trade barriers was not enough. Policies were also needed to encourage developing countries to escape from poverty.

"The world economy is now growing at the slowest pace in a decade and the risk of global recession is rising," Annan said. "The impact on the world's poorer nations will be devastating."

The WTO must work to restore market confidence, create new export opportunities and resume growth, he said.

"Now, more than ever, we need to resist the siren voices of protectionism, and work out multilateral solutions to our problems," Annan added.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani appealed to the rich industrialised countries to set up a more equitable trading mechanism that would address the needs of the developing countries and give them hope for the future.

"If we hope and aspire that the WTO contributes to pushing the wheel of global economic development, it is important that it takes into consideration the needs and aspirations of developing countries whose peoples form a big percentage of the world's population," Sheikh Hamad said in an opening speech.