ISLAMABAD, July 11: Federal Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan on Monday expressed the hope that the G-20 member nations, at informal meeting in Islamabad, would adopt comprehensive strategy for getting free access of their products to developed countries. He was talking to the Commerce Minister of Cuba, Ricardo Carbrisas Ruiz at a bilateral meeting held on the sideline of an informal Ministerial-level meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in China.

An official announcement issued by commerce ministry said that the minister said that the conference to be held in Islamabad in September next would evolve a consolidated strategy for seeking access to the market of developed countries.

Mr Khan said the next G-20 ministerial meeting to be held in Pakistan by September would provide opportunity to the developing countries to evolve a common strategy to achieve their shared objectives.

He said Pakistan was looking forward to upholding the interests of less developed countries (LDCs) and mobilizing a unified stand on the issues like elimination of subsides and bringing down domestic support on agricultural products.

“We believe that the farmers from Pakistan and other countries would be the beneficiary with the elimination of the subsidies in the West,” he said.

So far as rules are concerned, Pakistan will underline the need for improving WTO rules on anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing measures, fisheries subsidies and regional trade agreements.

Pakistan sought complete elimination of export subsidies given by the US, European Union and Japan, he said. He expressed the hope that the on-going trade negotiation would bring about meaningful results, particularly on the issues relating to the export of agricultural products.

About the forthcoming formal ministerial conference of the WTO member countries to be held in December in Hong Kong, the minister expressed the hope that it would help push forward world trade liberalization and investment facilitation so as to promote development of all economies, especially of developing ones.