India, Brazil laud progress on Doha Round of Trade Negotiations

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and visiting Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Wednesday agreed that significant progress has already been achieved in the Doha Round of Trade Negotiations.

A joint statement issued after a bilateral meeting between the two held on the sidelines of the IBSA and BRIC summits here, said that both leaders had called upon all members to “work towards a balanced agreement and to refrain from seeking excessive and additional levels of ambition from a few developing economies.”

“The prolonged inconclusiveness of the negotiations may threaten the credibility of the rule-based multilateral trading system,” they warned.

The joint statement said both Brazil and India will continue to make all efforts to build a multilateral trading system that puts development at its center.

Both President Lula and Prime Minister Singh reiterated that the early conclusion of the São Paulo Round of GSTP Negotiations among developing countries in accordance with the agreement reached last December will contribute in a concrete manner towards increasing South-South trade and economic cooperation.