The world's poorest countries yesterday adopted a charter of demands to present at world trade talks later this year, including unrestricted market access and easier movement of manpower to developed countries.
The charter, agreed after a three-day meeting in Bangladesh and called "The Dhaka Declaration", also wants developed nations to end restrictions on food imports and to cut agriculture subsidies to boost the export of farm produce from the least-developed countries (LDCs).
The declaration formed a common stance for the next round of world trade talks, scheduled for September in Cancun, Mexico, said Mr Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, the commerce minister of Bangladesh, which co-ordinates the 49-member LDC group.
"We are disappointed with the slow progress of implementation of commitments to help least-developed countries secure beneficial and meaningful integration into the multilateral trading system and global economy," it stated.
Mr Chowdhury told the concluding session of the meeting that the LDCs wanted an end to farm subsidies in developed countries.
"Farming is the main livelihood for more than 70 percent of our population. Yet this sector is unable to contribute significantly to our external trade . . . The developed countries continue to subsidise their agriculture to the tune of about $1 billion a day," he added. - (Reuters)