Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

India made major gains at WTO talks

The government said on Thursday it had made significant gains at the World Trade Organisation meeting in the Gulf state of Qatar where countries agreed to launch a new round of talks on dismantling trade barriers.

India has "succeeded in warding off any commitments for negotiations in the important areas of investment, competition policy and transparency in government procurement," the government said in a statement in New Delhi.

The agreement in Doha, the capital of Qatar, came after India settled for a statement acknowledging its reservations about opening talks on investment rules, competition policy and other issues it feared could put poor countries at a disadvantage.

The statement said the final declaration by the WTO to liberalise global commerce reached after six days of haggling "took on board" India's concerns.

The more than 140-member WTO functions by consensus and the formula agreed upon was designed to accommodate India's reservations about the pact without scuttling a deal widely seen as providing a needed boost to an ailing global economy.

ALSO READ:
India and the WTO: News and issues