Seminar on Cancun and Beyond

The Fifth Ministerial Conference of WTO to be held in Cancun in September 2003 will be of crucial interest to India and other developing countries. Among other issues, the Cancun Ministerial will decide whether or not to launch negotiations on Singapore issues, which have important implications for developing countries.

As part of the series of activities planned in preparation of the Fifth Ministerial over the next few months, RIS organized a Discussion Meeting on the Cancun Agenda and Beyond on Thursday 22 May 2003 in RIS Conference Hall.

Mr. Martin Khor, Director of Third World Network, Penang initiated the discussion. Mr. Martin Khor is also Vice-Chairperson of the United Nations Human rights commission's Expert Group on the Right to Development. He is a leading champion of the development concerns in multilateral trade negotiations.

Professor G.K. Chadha, Vice-Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Chaired the discussion meeting.

The eminent participants in this meeting included, Shri Sompal, Member, Planning Commission, besides a number of senior
government officials and WTO experts from policy think-tanks, academic institutions and NGOs.