July 19, 2002	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 8, 1423

GENEVA, July 18: World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiators began a two-day meeting here Thursday to spur momentum in the drive to lower global trade barriers that was launched by WTO ministers in the Qatari capital Doha last November.

Ahead of the meeting, a senior European Union official described progress so far as “very uneven” and warned WTO members against “cherry picking,” stressing the need for progress on all issues at the same time.

But Deputy US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier disagreed with the assessment early Thursday, saying: “Obviously countries have different interests, and so everybody is looking to see whether the areas where they have the greatest interest are moving along as quickly as other areas.”

Ministers from the 144-strong global trade body are due to meet again in the Mexican city of Cancun in September 2003 to review progress on the talks.

The new push to promote global commerce has been dubbed the Doha Development Agenda and is scheduled to be completed near the end of 2004.

Several developing countries have expressed disappointment at what they regard as a lack of progress in negotiations aimed at improving the “special and differential treatment” that has been accorded them by the WTO.

WTO HEAD: WTO chief Mike Moore voiced confidence on Thursday that new global trade talks were largely on track and could be concluded by the scheduled end-of-2004 deadline.

“The mood is good, in most areas we believe we are on target,” Moore, the director-general of the WTO, told reporters half way through the first day of a key meeting.

Moore said that in one area of the negotiations the “wheels are spinning a little bit”, but voiced confidence that a disagreement over talks on market access for non-agricultural products could be overcome.

He said deadlines and ministerial involvement were critical to “bring this down on time” and achieve the three-year timeframe laid down by WTO ministers in the Qatari capital.

“I believe it can be, and that the last 48 hours have been useful, we’re not totally there yet, but the reports from so many committees ... each of those reports I think was constructive,” he said.

He gave the press conference at WTO headquarters jointly with his successor, former Thai deputy prime minister Supachai Panitchpakdi, who is due to take over as WTO director-general in September.

SUPACHAI SAID: “We should not be too pessimistic about some delays, deadlines are there, we must and should do our best to make the deadlines, but it’s not the end of the world if you would miss some deadlines.”—AFP