Pakistan to participate in the
informal WTO Minister Meeting in Davos
At the invitation of the Swiss President Doris Leuthard, an informal meeting of around thirty trade Ministers is being held on 27 January 2007 at the margin of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. Ministers being invited to participate in this meeting include those representing major trading economies, representatives of various regions, Least Developed Countries, African countries, etc. Pakistan will be represented by its Commerce Minister Mr. Humayun Akhtar Khan. Since Pakistan is also holding the Chair of TRIPS negotiating group, its ambassador Dr. Manzoor Ahmad has also been invited to participate in this meeting.
This meeting is not being considered as a negotiating forum and the Swiss have warned that there should not be any high expectations. The meeting is to take stock on ministerial level of the current state of play and exchange ideas on the way forward. Although no breakthrough is expected, nevertheless this meeting and bilateral meetings being held separately are considered very significant. It is widely believed that the Doha negotiations are entering an end phase and if the US and EU are able to resolve their differences over farm subsidies and tariff cuts, other issues may be comparatively easier to resolve.
