ISLAMABAD, April 30: The 148 WTO member countries would attend an informal ministerial meeting in Paris on Monday to review the progress made under the July framework agreement as part of the early completion of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). An official told Dawn on Saturday that Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan would leave on Sunday for France to represent Pakistan in the meeting.

Mr Khan would also attend a meeting of the G-20, an informal coalition of developing countries, to be held in the same premises, the official said. The G-20 would also finalize its stand on the issues particularly on the export subsidies, domestic support and greater market access for their products.

The WTO member countries have agreed to finalize the draft modalities particularly for negotiation on agriculture latest by July 2005 during the upcoming Ministerial Conference to be held in Hong Kong in December 2005. The official said Pakistan along with other developing countries would protect the interests of their markets during the negotiations.