IBSA to WTO: End impasse on Doha talks

"To overcome the current impasse and to bring the Doha round to a successful conclusion, the IBSA leaders reiterated the need to re-affirm the integrity of the mandate that launched the round, and to build on the convergence already achieved," said the declaration issued at the end of the fifth IBSA Dialogue Forum meeting.The meeting was attended by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, South African President Jacob Zuma and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

The Doha round of trade talks, which sought to put the interest of developing countries at the centre of the negotiations, have been pending since 2001. "The current impasse in the negotiations is, therefore, a source of serious concern. The distortions caused by the high levels of protection and subsidies in agriculture in the developed countries continue to undermine the development prospect of many developing countries, especially the least developed countries," said the declaration.

The leaders also urged the members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to reach an agreement on measures of interest to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and not to make them conditional to reaching an agreement on market access issues.