July 24, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1424

DALIAN (China), July 23: Asian and European economic ministers gathered in China hope to send a strong signal on the need to revive stalled global trade talks at a crucial WTO meeting this fall, officials and delegates said on Wednesday.

The Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) of economic ministers in the northeastern city of Dalian comes just weeks before the World Trade Organization (WTO) will seek to breathe new life into stagnating trade negotiations in Cancun, Mexico.

“This meeting is held at a time when global economic growth is slowing down and the new round of WTO negotiations is at a deadlock,” Chinese Assistant Commerce Minister Yi Xiaozhun said after Wednesday’s talks.

“We would like to demonstrate again the support of ASEM members to the multilateral trade system by calling on all WTO members to take timely action to push forward a new round,” he said.

Delegates agreed that the meeting would be an opportunity to express commitment to global trade liberalization and iron out differences before the September talks in Mexico.

“It’s not a decision-making forum, it’s a discussion forum, and it’s about confidence-building, trust-building, which is a crucial element in trade negotiations,” EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy told AFP.

The thorny issue of agriculture, considered key to reviving WTO negotiations, was likely to figure high on the ASEM agenda, with a focus on tariff reductions and cuts in subsidies, delegates said.

“The agricultural sector is going to be a very critical issue in the coming negotiation process,” said South Korean Trade Minister Hwang Doo-Yun. “So at this meeting, of course we will touch upon this issue too.”—AFP