ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: Pakistan will join other developing countries at Cancun to press the developed countries for reducing their support to agriculture produce and provide them promised market access under World Trade Organization (WTO), said commerce minister Humayun Akhtar, who is leading the Pakistan delegation to the Cancun ministerial meeting scheduled for September 10-14.

Talking to Dawn here on Wednesday, the minister said the success of Cancun ministerial meeting mostly depends on reaching an understanding on modalities under agreement on agriculture (AOA).

He said Islamabad had already asked for reduction in the high tariffs, export subsidies and domestic support to agriculture produce by developed countries.

The reduction in this support, he said, would provide an opportunity to developing countries to export surplus agriculture produce to these markets. Currently, Pakistan is providing zero explicit export subsidies on export of their agriculture produce.

The minister said at Cancun Pakistan would join the supporters of the Swiss formula seeking calculated reduction in domestic and export subsidies to agriculture produce including those which were being given under the name of bio-diversity and environment protection, etc. He said that the Swiss formula was closer to Pakistan’s interest.

Mr Khan said Cancun was actually the stock taking of the decisions taken during the Doha ministerial conference. If sufficient progress was not achieved at Cancun, he said, it would turn into another Seattle.

Replying to a question, he said, Pakistan was fully equipped to face and present its position at the ministerial meeting.

The minister said that before leaving for Mexico, the inter-ministerial committee appointed by government on WTO, would be briefed on all issues and their opinion and suggestions sought.

With regard to the stance of Pakistan on TRIPs and public health, the minister said that Pakistan had obtained extension for the patent of pharmaceutical products till December 31, 2004 and was making necessary preparation to cater for the post-2005 scenario.

Regarding the establishment of Intellectual Property Rights Organization (PIPRO), the minister said the draft law would be sent shortly to the cabinet for approval.

He said the Singapore issues—-competition, investment, trade facilitation and government procurement— would be discussed at Cancun following up with the explicit consensus of member countries. “On these issues we have the same position the other developing countries have,” he said. However, he did not say what position Pakistan would take on the Singapore issues at Cancun.

Replying to another question, he said that Pakistan was demanding the continuation of special and differential treatment for the developing countries. The US and others oppose this continuation, he added.

The commerce minister said that in Pakistan the tariff was not scaled down because of WTO agreements but because of International Monetary Funds’s (IMF) conditionalities.