Monday, 28 September 2009

World's poorest countries discuss WTO accession


The WTO headquarters in Geneva


(Post in http://www.khmernz.blogspot.com/)

PHNOM PENH — Some of the world's poorest countries on Monday began a three-day meeting in the Cambodian capital to discuss how to speed up entry to the World Trade Organisation.

Trade representatives from 12 of the least developed countries in Asia and Africa met officials from the WTO, World Bank, the European Commission and United Nations agencies in Phnom Penh to discuss accession to the organisation.

Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh said his country wanted the meeting to help prepare other impoverished nations for the risks involved in negotiations with the global body.

"We want to share our own experience in negotiating to join the WTO...(and) now we are trying to push for more LDCs (Least Developed Countries) to join," Cham Prasidh told reporters.

"What we do is we try to, a little bit, lower their negotiation conditions so that those remaining LDCs can join without having to pay a very high ticket price," he said.

Fellow WTO members Cape Verde and Nepal joined Cambodia providing advice to officials from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Laos, Sudan, Vanuatu, Yemen, Comoros, Liberia, Samoa and Sao Tome and Principe.

No comments: