Ghali calls for change of world trade system
Egypt-Regional, Economics, 5/28/2001

The world trade system should be re-formulated in a way serving the cause of development in developing nations, Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Youssef Boutros Ghali said Sunday.

The remarks came in a speech delivered by Ghali at the meeting of Group 15 (G-15) economy and trade ministers held in the Indonesian capital Djakarta, as part of preparations being made for the group's summit, due to be held here Wednesday.

"The developed world should amend its production structures by moving part of its industry to developing nations and grant developing world products access to its markets," Ghali said.

"The aim behind any round of multilateral negotiations is to convince developed nations to make structural changes," he noted.

"We have noticed during the latest meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle that the developing countries have a power of pressure that should not be underestimated," he said, adding that such a power had not been used yet.

Ghali called for further cooperation among developing nations within the WTO to be able to maintain any benefits to be achieved in the future.

The general attitude is giving priority to development related issues in developing nations, sources close to the meeting said.

"A number of ministers rejected the idea of a new round of multilateral negotiations within the WTO, while Egypt underscored cooperation among the group in the field of investment and trade," the sources noted.

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