The Hindu Business Line : Singapore issues led to failure: CII

THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Monday ``applauded'' the Commerce Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, for his ``outstanding performance'' at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference in Cancun, Mexico.

In a statement, the chamber has said Cancun failed because the West and the developed countries misunderstood the mood of the world. ``They misunderstood that the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America wanted to express their views and it was, in fact, Africa which rose in revolt against the Singapore issues of investment, trade facilitation and Government procurement,'' the chamber said.

Strangely, agriculture did not break Cancun, the Singapore issues broke Cancun, the chamber has pointed out.

``India did not break Cancun. Africa broke Cancun, Gratifyingly, the G-15 and G-21 alliances of the developing countries remained intact right through,'' the statement said.

The chamber has expressed its regret that the Cancun WTO conference collapsed without an agreement. ``Cancun represents a turning point in trade negotiations. These will never be the same again. The developing countries are now a force to reckon with and now India led by Mr Jaitley, was a major force in bringing together many countries on a common platform, the chamber has said.

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