Thursday, July 14 2005 11:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dalian (China): : Commerce Ministers from 30 countries, including India, yesterday (July 13, 2005) agreed on the urgency of making "maximum progress" on the vexed agriculture issues by end of July while expressing their collective resolve that the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) must be concluded by the end of 2006.

"We will work to further increase momentum towards our goal of successful conclusion of the DDA negotiations by the end of 2006, our highest common priority in trade policy for the year ahead," the Dalian WTO Informal Ministerial Meeting (IMM) said in a co-chair's summary at the end of their "heated and sufficient" negotiations here in the northeast Chinese port city.

"We noted with grave concern his (Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee) clearly expressed view that not as much progress has been made as we anticipated, and the imperative need to expedite progress on Agriculture in order to facilitate negotiations in other areas," the summary said.

On the contentious issue of agriculture, the ministers reiterated the importance of the sector as an engine for the Doha Round, and expressed happiness to see a "shared political commitment to accelerate the negotiation and a growing convergence on some key issues."

"We agreed that there is an urgent need to make the maximum progress on all three pillars by end July," the summary, issued at the end of two days of intense in-camera negotiations, attended among others by Union Commerce and Industries Minister, Kamal Nath.