ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: G-20 ministers will meet on Tuesday to finalize a strategy for negotiations on agriculture issues at the forthcoming ministerial conference in Hong Kong.

Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan has left for Geneva to forcefully represent developing countries’ interests in the WTO agricultural negotiations.

The meeting is being held at a very crucial juncture in the process of negotiations in the WTO, with a view to giving political impetus to the stalled negotiations on agriculture and reasserting the solidarity of developing countries on this issue of vital importance to them.

The ministers will discuss the specific issues that are being considered in the negotiations at the WTO, with a view to gauging progress and firming up their stance on developing countries’ strategy to address this very important issue for the farmers of the developing world.

The G-20 was formed with the objective of combating the prevalent distortions in agriculture trade, mainly owing to huge subsidies being granted by developed countries to their farmers and also the very high import duties maintained by them on agriculture products of interest to developing countries.