(a) the composition of Indian delegation attended the Trade Ministers` Conference at Sydney recently;
(b) the details of discussions held in the Conference;
(c) the outcome of the conference;
(d) whether the Trade Ministers have also reached any conclusion regarding making a new WTO facility to enable poor countries to import patended drugs at cheaper costs; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY ( SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY )
(a) An Indian delegation led by the Minister of Commerce & Industry attended the informal mini-Ministerial meeting of WTO Trade Ministers held in Sydney from 14-15 November 2002. The other members of the delegation were Shri Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary, Shri S.N. Menon, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Shri K.M. Chandrasekhar, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of India to WTO, Geneva and Private Secretary to the Minster.
(b) to (e) The discussions were held on various issues covered under the Doha Work Programme adopted by the Ministers at the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference held in Doha in November 2001. These included, issues relating to the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Public Health with particular reference to the issue regarding access to Medicine. Other issues covered included implementation of existing WTO Agreements, Special and Differential (S&D) Treatment and Trade-related Technical Assistance; Market Access for Agricultural, Non-agricultural products and Services; review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) and the Singapore issues of Trade and Investment, Trade and Competition Policy, Transparency in Government Procurement and Trade Facilitation.
Since this was an informal meeting, discussions were in the form of exchange of views of participating countries with no declared outcome. The object was to see how further progress can be made in taking forward the Doha Work Programme by the time of the Fifth Ministerial Conference to be held in Cancun, Mexico next year.