Meeting probes boosting developing countries' negotiating stance with WT

A two-day meeting in Cairo discussed means to augment the negotiating stance of the developing countries in the next World Trade Organization (WTO) round of talks.

The WTO talks are to probe the agenda churned out by the body's last meeting in Doha, Qatar, in November.

Minister of Foreign Trade Youssef Boutros Ghali attended the discussions' closing session on Tuesday.

The World Bank's economic policies section chairman, the WB's regional office head in Cairo Mahmoud Ayoub, the Egyptian centers executive director Ahmed Galal, senior WB economist Mostafa Napoli as well as a cohort of Egyptian and international economists attended the meeting.

The meeting opens the way for experts and economic policymakers to discuss the issues crucial to developing countries and the new rules of the world trade, Ghali said.

On his part, the WTO head for economic affairs made clear that the meeting discussed in depth some important topics such as agricultural exports, textiles, competitiveness and ways to facilitate flow of commodities across world borders.

Ayoub underlined importance of the meeting for Egypt that he said is working on adopting an ambitious plan to freeing trade and increasing integration in the world market.

The meeting was jointly organized by the Egyptian center for economic studies and the World Bank.