Parliamentarians call for firm commitment to Doha Round
By Our Reporter
HONG KONG, Dec 16: The Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) on Friday adopted a declaration urging ministers of the member countries to confirm their commitment to the conclusion of the Doha Development Round by end of 2006.
The concluding session was headed by former Director General World Trade Organization Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi and attended by nearly 400 delegates of national parliaments from 69 countries who met in Hong Kong at the invitation of the IPU and the European Parliament.
The Pakistani parliamentarian delegation was represented by members National Assembly, Ms Kashmala Tariq, Ms Yasmin Rahman and Senator Muhammad Ibrahim.
Speaking on the occasion Senator Ibrahim condemned the role of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the dictation, which they make to the under-developed countries.
Ms Yasmin Rehman showed her concern regarding environmental protection, tariff lines and subsidies.
Ms Kashmala Tariq criticized the food aid programme of the USA, which was the source of dumping and distorting the market economy. She also demanded transparency in state enterprises.
She said that a special fund should be created and managed by the UNDP, instead of donor agencies, and this concept should be adopted for the aid for food programme.
She went on to say that agriculture was lifeline of the developing countries and the EU should not hide behind the curtain of common agriculture policy (CAP). She also highlighted the magnitude of devastation caused by the recent earthquake in Pakistan and said that the dealing with natural calamities should be part of the national policies.
