Thaindian News

Washington, March 18 (IANS) India hopes that the Doha Round of world trade talks would be completed this year and warned that the absence of a pact would do incalculable harm to multilateralism.

“We stand committed to completing the Doha round, very simply because it is the development round, we have the most at stake,” Indian Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar told reporters here Thursday after a three-day visit.

But, “if you do not get Doha done this year, you are seriously jeopardising one of the most credible institutions of multilateralism that exists today”, he said after talks with government officials and business leaders.

“You will do incalculable harm to multilateral institutions and to the cause of multilateralism,” Khullar said.

However, he felt that the international community was significantly closer to a deal than ever before with the agricultural part “essentially sorted out” and higher commodity prices making it easier for both subsidised and non-subsidised products to be included.

“Subsidies are harmful because they depress prices,” Khullar said. “However, we have to be alive to the concerns that in many countries with unemployment numbers, there are all sorts of fears”.

An intensive round of negotiations next week may further narrow down the differences, he said. “The intention is that hopefully by Easter, we will have revised texts, which will narrow differences and become the basis of further negotiations,” Khullar said.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)