COMESA, SADC economy ministers meet today in Cairo

MENA learnt that the Draft Cairo Declaration to be issued by the trade ministers meetings of the COMESA and SADC, whose meetings will start in Cairo on Monday, asserts that the two groupings agree to cooperate-in order to contribute to reverse the marginalisation of the COMESA and other developing and least developed countries in the multilateral trading system.

The draft, referred by senior officials and experts of these countries at the end of their preparatory meetings Sunday evening to the ministerial meetings, says that the participating countries have decided to participate fully in the multilateral trading system and take all necessary actions, within their means, to assert their presence at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

They called upon international lending institutions, bilateral creditors and the Bretton Woods institution to support the development efforts of developing and least developed countries by writing off their debts.

They voiced their disappointment at the imbalances contained in the Uruguay Round agreements and the lack of progress in solving the implementation issues.

They called upon the WTO General Council to expeditiously implement its decision on 15th December, 2000, in which it reaffirmed its intention to address the outstanding implementation-related issues and concerns, including those aet out in paragraphs 21 and 22 of the revised Draft Ministerial Text of 19th October, 1999 as well as any other implementation issues raised by members, with view to completing the process no later than the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference.

They urged the General Council to confirm, in unambiguous terms, that no provisions of the TRIPS Agreement prohibit WTO members from taking measures, in the interest of public health and especially in the face of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to provide access to medicines to their people at affordable prices.

Regarding technology transfer, they urged that WTO members put technology transfer issues as a top priority in the WTO work programme of action and take practical and tangible steps to promote the transfer of technology from their countries to developing and least developed countries as intended and provided for in the TRIPS agreement.

Concerning new issues, they noted that most of these issues did not fall within the purview of the WTO and should, therefore, not be discussed under that umbrella of the multilateral trade negotiations.

They emphasized their disbelief that negotiations on these issues would bring any tangible benefits to their peoples.