September 14, 2001
Preparations for the crucial ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the Gulf state of Qatar are still on track, WTO director-general Mike Moore insisted on Friday.
"We have a focus on having a ministerial at Doha, we are doing our preparations," Moore told journalists, "we are on duty, we continue to work towards a process."
Diplomatic sources had suggested that the Doha meeting of trade ministers from the 142-member organisation, including the US and Israel, might be postponed and moved elsewhere because of security concerns following the terrorist attacks in the US. Moore appeared to be irritated when he was faced with a barrage of questions on the security issue.
"I think our job is to do what we can to allow all our members to participate in our consultations. I don't think speculation in public at this point is helpful," Moore said.
But he acknowledged that issue had been raised privately by some ambassadors at the WTO: "Ambassadors have come to me, of course, in corridors and elsewhere, people are full of anguish, this (the US attacks) is an event that could shake a generation, let us not underestimate it."
Moore said he looked forward to continuing preparatory work in a meeting with Qatar's trade minister in Geneva on September 27 or 28. The WTO's head said he was also confident that a meeting under way in Geneva about China's accession bid would produce results.
"We may lose a few days here and there, but the inevitability is obvious that we will have China as a member," Moore said.
A formal meeting of the WTO's general council to consider China's accession is expected to tackle outstanding obstacles on Monday. But on the launch of a new trade round in Doha, Moore was more cautious after a series of meetings in Geneva with developing countries, including some of the WTO's poorest members. He admitted there was still no consensus on the launch of a new round even if he detected "greater convergence" on implementation of the Uruguay Round, the WTO's existing set of trade rules.
In consultation with trade negotiators, general council chairman Stuart Harbinson of Hong Kong aims to produce a declaration for the Doha meeting around September 24.
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