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WTO meeting 'almost certain' to move from Qatar

The World Trade Organisation is almost certain to switch a key ministerial meeting set for the Gulf state of Qatar next month to a site less sensitive to the current 'war on terrorism' crisis, diplomats said on Monday.

A well-informed trade source said the Qatari authorities had been 'given the message' that if the gathering went ahead, it was likely that at least some of the 142 WTO member countries as well as other expected delegations would not turn up.

"I would say it's a 90 per cent certainty that we will have to go elsewhere, given the growing tensions affecting the Middle East region over the past few days," said one envoy in Geneva.

Other diplomats said they expected a signal on a switch on Wednesday after a meeting of the cabinet of the emirate.

Concerns over security for the Qatar gathering were voiced when ministers from 21 WTO countries met in Singapore at the weekend to try to resolve differences over whether to launch a new round of trade liberalisation talks.

Trade sources said every one of the ministers -- including US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and his counterparts from Tanzania, Canada and Japan -- expressed strong worries on security during a private dinner there.

Singapore's trade minister, George Yeo, told the meeting that the island state, which staged the WTO's first big conference in 1996, would be ready to host a downsized ministerial meeting if it were switched from Qatar.

DATES WOULD REMAIN

The meeting is due to take place from November 9-13, and trade sources said the dates would remain whatever happened.

Doubts about Qatar surfaced in Geneva immediately after alleged Islamic militant hijackers crashed airliners into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington on September 11.

Concern has surged over the past few days as US warplanes and missiles pounded targets in Afghanistan -- home to Osama bin Laden, alleged mastermind of the attacks -- sparking protests in parts of the Muslim world.

A videotape released on Sunday by bin Laden's al Qaeda network told US and British 'infidels' to leave the Gulf, or else 'fire will flare underneath their feet'.

On Sunday, a senior official in Qatar said preparations for the gathering were continuing. "Qatar is one of the safest places to hold such a meeting."

Zoellick, speaking on Monday in Kuala Lumpur, said he was impressed with the security preparations Qatar had made.

"But the point that a number of us made is that we live in an uncertain world, and it changes day by day. We get new reports about threats. And these are things that you obviously have to take into account," Zoellick said. "There are issues in the region that are beyond anybody's control."

Diplomats in Geneva said they had no doubt the Qataris could provide strong security on the ground, but they felt the risks in the region were now too great.

Qatar's emir and head of state, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, has taken a strong position in support of President George W Bush's war on terrorism, a stance that has sparked criticism from anti-US militants in the Middle East.

A well-placed trade official said there were serious diplomatic issues to be weighed before a decision was made -- apparently to avoid offending the Qataris, who have sunk much political capital into staging the meeting.

"This has to be dealt with very delicately," he added.

It would have to be made very clear that any decision to move the meeting could not be depicted as an anti-Arab gesture, said one envoy. "It certainly would not be. Everyone is full of praise for the preparations in Doha," he added.

The formal decision would be taken at a meeting of the WTO's ruling general council, grouping all member countries. An informal session of the council is set for Tuesday, but envoys said a switch could take a few more days to finalise.

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