Designated WTO president vows to support developing countries
Regional, Economics, 3/7/2002

The president-elect of the World Trade Organization (WTO) vowed to boost the power of developing countries in the organization, while castigating developed countries for suppressing the voices of their less-developed counterparts.

Thailand's Suphachai Panitchpakdi, who is due to take over the helm of the WTO from New Zealander Mike Moore in September this year, said that he would work to increase the role of less-developed and under-developed countries, which accounted for 110 seats in the 144-seat global body, reported the Thai news agency TNA.

In order to do this, he said, he would request funding for technical assistance from international organizations such as the United Nations, as at present the WTO itself lacked a budget for such programs.

The president-elect of the WTO, which has been vilified by anti-globalization activists for ensuring the wealth of the Western world while disadvantaging poorer nations, said that he would work to ensure that all members of the organization were placed on an equal footing in order that developed countries did not gain an unfair advantage.

Developing nations would be given the opportunity to pull themselves up, and would not, as in the past, be forced into restrictive conditions without being allowed sufficient say on the matters in hand.

In particular, Suphachai said, developing nations would be ensured of fairness in terms of rules governing the trade of agricultural goods and fabric, and in terms of ease of entry into the organization.

In addition, the WTO would play an increasingly important social role in order to avoid global opposition to its activities and charges of being a purely economic organization.

Suphachai singled out the case of the rules governing the sale of medicine in developing countries, saying that the WTO would have to listen to the concerns of developing countries and NGOs about the high price of medicines produced by patent-holding western drug companies.

Turning to the running of the WTO itself, Suphachai said he wanted to see the steps involved in decision-making reduced, while at the same time ensuring that developing countries, who made up over 80 percent of the body, had a more prominent voice.

At the same time, he said, he had no wish to see the WTO acting as the world's economic supervisor, as this exceeded its role. Members would be allowed to protect themselves during times of economic crisis, he said, although such measures could only be temporary.

Suphachai vowed that he would do his best to put his vision into practice during his three-year stint with the WTO. "But I concede that it will take a lot of time and effort to build up understanding, and even to plead with developed countries to see eye-to-eye with this approach," he said. Suphachai said that the current of globalization was unavoidable, and that Thailand no longer had a choice over whether or not to liberalize its markets. However, he said, liberalization was more likely to bring benefits to Thailand than it was to be detrimental.

Previous Stories:
  World Bank President Calls for a Doubling of Foreign Aid   (3/6/2002)
  WTO chief urges end to farming subsidies in developed countries   (2/11/2002)
  Egypt, developing nations gain a lot from WTO meetings in Doha   (11/17/2001)

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