Thursday, December 1 2005 19:07 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India has expressed disappointment over the first draft text for the forthcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong later this month and sought urgent action to ensure that the outcome of the on-going Doha round of negotiations is relevant to developing countries.

In a statement made at the Trade Negotiations Committee Meeting in Geneva, Commerce Secretary S N Menon said India had noted with a sense of disappointment a serious and growing development deficit in the Doha Round.

"Paragraphs 17-20 of the draft text on special and differential treatment (S&D) are clear evidence of this fact.

"There has been virtually no progress in Doha Mandate on S&D, calling for provisions to be made more effective, precise and operational. Even the five prioritised S&D proposals of the LDCs have not been agreed to," he said.

There was a similar lack of emphasis on development issues in agriculture, non-agriculture market access and TRIPs, he was quoted as saying in an official release.

Urgent action was required to rectify this if the outcome of the Doha Round is to have any credibility and relevance for developing countries, he said and highlighted some of the important issues that were causing discomfort and on which substantial progress was expected in Hong Kong.

"On Agriculture, it will be extremely difficult for my delegation to go back home without convergence on issues such as specification in proportionality of cuts or thresholds of tariff reduction formula for developing countries," he said.

The draft, presented by WTO Director General Pascal Lamy on November 26, has itself admitted that much remained to be done to establish modalities and to conclude talks in crucial areas of agriculture and industrial tariffs.