Brussels, 07/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - Having failed to get together an extraordinary joint meeting bringing together the countries of the G8 and the emerging powers prior to the Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Hong Kong, to try to save the Doha Round, Brazil, which is expecting next week's negotiations to end in failure, continues to bring pressure to bear for such a meeting to be held next January. According to the head of Brazilian diplomacy, Celso Amorim, the presidents of Brazil, Lula da Silva, and of the United States, George W. Bush, are said to have discussed the possibility of such a meeting post-Hong Kong, during a telephone discussion on Wednesday. Expressing the opinion, for his part, that "the differences of opinion (...) on issues relating to agriculture are too big to be made smaller quickly", the Indian Minister for trade, Kamal Nath, once again raised the issue of holding a further WTO ministerial meeting at the beginning of 2006. Speaking via its trade Minister, Toshihiko Nikai, Japan, the leader of the group of agricultural importing countries, the G-10 (which, like the Union, is presenting a defensive profile on agricultural issues), states that it is prepared to "make major concessions" in Hong Kong, without stating in which sectors.
Furthermore, after the conclusion of an agreement at the WTO on access to generic medication (see other article), the European Commissioner for Trade, Peter Mandelson, welcomed this "first contribution" to the development package in favour of the least developed countries which the WTO should, by his insistent demand, approve in Hong Kong. During his visit to the French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin in Paris on Tuesday, Mr Mandelson promised that he would "do his best to put forward the interests of France and Europe" in Hong Kong. Mr Mandelson's words did, however, appear to do little to mollify French trade Minister Christiane Lagarde, who said on Wednesday that there were "risks that the Trade Commissioner may be persuaded to move forward in the field of agriculture" in such a way as to exceed the mandate conferred upon him by the Council of the Union.