[ INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ]

Mr M K Sanghi, President, ICC India
Mr O S Kanwar, President-Elect, ICC India
Dr Amit Mitra, Secretary General, ICC India
Distinguished Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am indeed delighted to be present here today to inaugurate the 72nd Annual General Meeting of ICC India.

I understand that ICC, the International Chamber of Commerce, represents the voice of the global business community at various international fora. I would like to compliment ICC India for projecting the views of developing countries in general and India in particular at the various Commissions of ICC. I always feel that engagement is a better way to be heard than talking in isolation. It is through a constructive partnership that the government and business and industry can best achieve our mutually reinforcing, if not identical, objectives. My presence in your midst this afternoon is part of this engagement.

The theme of today's General Meeting - "Multilateral Trade Negotiations - the Unfolding Scenario" is very topical and of immense significance to developing countries. We are now at a crucial stage of negotiations. It is important for developing countries to maintain their solidarity in the pursuit of their common interests.

The promise of the Uruguay Round for a real and substantial increase in market access for developing countries in areas of their competitive advantage was never realized. By the time of Doha Conference, it was widely acknowledged that the gains promised to the developing countries were yet to be delivered. The WTO was thus faced with a severe development deficit.

It is in this background that the developing countries approached the new proposals seeking to expand the ambit of multilateral negotiations at WTO. They were still recovering from the burden of the Uruguay Round obligations, when they were confronted with new proposals, and counter proposals, including in areas where they manifestly lacked the technical capacity for negotiations.

Against this background, their hopes were aroused by a growing international consensus on making the negotiations under the Doha work programme development oriented. However, some crucial deadlines to achieve progress in areas of interest for developing countries have already passed. These include the deadlines relating to Special and Differential treatment for developing countries, and over the issue of access to essential medicines at affordable prices for poor countries, especially those lacking the capacity to manufacture such drugs themselves.

The above issues constitute major components of the so-called Doha development agenda. There is much dismay among developing countries not only that the deadlines have not been met, but that, in some areas at least, attempts are being made to roll back the progress achieved at Doha. Continuing attempts to restrict the coverage of diseases for triggering the compulsory licensing provisions under the TRIPS Agreement is a case in point. They have called into question the sincerity and commitment of developed countries to the redressal of the large imbalance confronting developing countries at the WTO.

There are other vital areas in the ongoing negotiations. Perhaps none is as important for developing countries as a whole, than negotiations in agriculture.
A country like India, with a large and diverse agricultural sector, has vital stakes. Most of all, we have to bear in mind that a very large number of our people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. We also have to ensure the paramount objective of food security, on a sustained basis, for our people. We hope negotiations under the Doha Round would lead to real progress towards elimination of trade distorting domestic support and export subsidies, coupled with high tariffs, maintained by the developed countries. Here again, one has to note the disappointing signals, sent out by some major developed countries whose action in significantly enhancing subsidies to the agricultural sector was against the spirit, if not the letter, of the understandings reached at Doha.

The negotiations on industrial tariffs confront developing countries with fresh challenges. These negotiations must address, as a priority, the issues of peak tariffs and tariff escalation, which have been resorted to by developed countries to restrict market access for the labour-intensive products of developing countries, especially in the textile and leather goods sectors. In the Services negotiations, India has made specific proposals to seek more equitable arrangements on the movement of natural persons.

I have mentioned some of the major concerns of India and other developing countries, in the ongoing negotiations at Geneva. It is important that these are addressed in the spirit of the Doha development round. It needs to be stressed that early signs have not been encouraging. Developed countries should take note of the growing disenchantment among developing countries over the lack of progress on issues of interest to them, and take early corrective action. India remains committed to constructively pursuing our long-held goal of a rules based, transparent, and predictable multilateral trading system.

Before concluding, I would like to once again emphasize the importance of the Government and business and industry working together to achieve our national objectives at the WTO. We had functioned in close coordination at the Doha Ministerial Conference, and should sustain this engagement.

I thank you for your patience.