Alan Field | May 27, 2009 11:19AM EDT
In a report to the World Trade Organization's General Council, WTO director-general Pascal Lamy applauded recent efforts to revive the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks.
"Overall, my impression is that while the economic crisis has worsened since the beginning of the year, the political atmosphere in the [Doha] negotiations has improved," Lamy said in the report. "We have seen an increasing level of political engagement and clear signals of renewed commitment and support for a rapid conclusion of the Doha Round."
Lamy said that the recent visit by United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk to WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland "was very welcome and timely. He clearly expressed his commitment to a successful conclusion of the Round."
Lamy added, "Our Geneva process is continuing to push ahead across the whole negotiating agenda. While at the moment much of the work in the Negotiating Groups could be described as technical, it is no less important for that. The Chairs are making every effort to clear the runway for political takeoff, and I thank them for this."
Contact Alan Field at afield@joc.com.
