Developing countries stand to lose a lot if trade talks fail: WTO
New Delhi: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has warned that India and other developing countries stand to lose much more than their developed counterparts if trade talks fail.

Pascal Lamy, director general, WTO said in the wake of crucial April 30 deadline. "India has a huge stake at the trade negotiations and if talks fail India may be one of the victims," he said.

Lamy said that it was important that all 150-member countries work towards a collective discipline by successfully completing the current Doha Round of trade talks. The current round of trade negotiations to liberalise the global trade further was launched in Doha in 2001.

Lamy is currently on a two-day visit to India as part of his whistle-stop tour of key member countries to push the trade talks mired by differences on cuts in farm subsidies and reduction in industrial tariffs.
Back to News Review index page  

Rice says India not giving getting military training to Iran
Washington: Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, has rejected the notion that port calls made by Iranian ships at Kochi meant that Iran was getting military training from India.

According to senator Barbara Boxer US lawmakers want India to end any such relationship with Iran as a pre- condition for the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. Rice said that' defence news' report on a military-to-military relationship between Iran and India was 'not right'. Rice replied, "Though there have been Iranian ship port calls in India but the assertion that they train Iranian sailors is not right," she said.

She said the Indians say that they do not train Iranian sailors and soldiers.

Senator Boxer said two Iranian warships were docked in Kochi as part of a training programme under a "three-year old military cooperation agreement" India has with Tehran.

Rice maintained the US has made very clear to India its concerns "about their relationship with Iran... about the pipeline...about their initial vote in the IAEA."
Back to News Review index page