Saudi Arabia supports objectives of Doha Round trade talks

Saudi Arabian Minister of Commerce and Industry Hashim A. Yamani said Saturday that his country strongly supports the objectives of Doha Development Agenda (DDA), which will further strengthen the multilateral trading system and contribute to economic growth and development.

Addressing the plenary session of the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which Saudi Arabia attends as its member for the first time, Yamani said Saudi Arabia will work alongside other WTO members to achieve a successful conclusion of the Doha Round negotiations by the end of 2006.

"We also will join hands with others to place the needs and interests of developing countries at the heart of the DDA," he said.

Yamani said he would "encourage WTO members to accelerate the accession of all other acceding countries so that the WTO will truly become a universal organization."

Concerning Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO earlier this month, the Saudi minister said to attend this conference as a full member, his country made extensive commitments on goods, services and intellectual property rights.

"We bound tariffs on practically all agricultural and non-agricultural products at very low rates, and made commitments on some 110 sub-sectors of services with few limitations," the minister said.

Yamani pledged to collaborate with other WTO members to ensure the success of this ministerial conference, which will pave the way for conclusion of the Doha Round negotiations.

The current WTO Ministerial Conference, which opened here on Tuesday and will conclude on Sunday, is being attended by delegates from the WTO's 150 members. It aims to advance the deadlocked Doha Round trade negotiations.

The Doha Round trade talks, launched in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001, have been stalled due to deep differences between the developed and developing members on market access, agriculture subsides and tariff structure.

Source: Xinhua