 AFP/File Photo |
Posted on 07/13/2003 1:56:56 PM PDT by MR. CAPITALIST
NEW DELHI (AFP) - India and China will join forces to lobby on behalf of developing countries on contentious trade issues such as agriculture and pharmaceuticals at World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, Indian Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley said.
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"Views of both the countries are converging on these issues and this we see as a significant development because of the size of the two economies, accounting for more than one-third of world population," he said on Friday.
Jaitley, who was speaking after his return from China with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee (news - web sites), said the landmark visit had set off a chain of discussions between trade officals of the two countries at various levels.
India, which is influential among developing countries on multilateral trade issues, is a long-standing opponent of subsidies for agricultural products from developed countries which it says make poor nations' exports uncompetitive.
It also wants developing nations to be allowed to buy low-cost lifesaving medicines from countries such as India and Brazil, rather than developed countries where they are patented.
The commerce minister said Chinese officials agreed with their Indian counterparts that negotiations on trade and investments should not be started until the parameters were clearly laid.
The two countries have also set a target of doubling their trade to 10 billion dollars by 2008, he said.
A high-powered Chinese trade delegation is due to visit India in November.
Idea! Why don't they just steal the patents?
Been there, done that. At least they're trying something new.
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