New Delhi: It is always a clinical surgery at WTO where a patient can die if you miss the target, says its Chief Roberto Azevedo, which probably explains why the 20- year-old global body could seal its first major trade pact in 2014 after a never-seen-before deal between India and the US.
The differences between the rich and developing nations have always been at the core of the World Trade Organisation, set up in 1995 to facilitate greater trade flows across the world, and it came as a major breakthrough when the US and India reached a deal over food security issues in 2014.
It was this deal that eventually facilitated the first ever major trade pact at the WTO and India is now looking forward to push for the long-pending Doha agenda at the global trade body in 2015.
Launched in 2011, the Doha Round of negotiations have remained virtually stalled since July 2008 when the trade ministers' meeting in Geneva collapsed due to differences between the rich and the developing nations.
The deadlock mainly emerged on the issue of protection for farmers in developing countries and duty cut on industrial goods.
The year 2014 also saw a never-seen-before bonhomie between India and the US, who have been staunch opponents at this global forum for years but managed to seal a deal between them to facilitate the long-stalled Trade Facilitation Agreement at the WTO that seeks to reduce transactions cost and ease global customs norm for global trade.
Officials said the breakthrough came after the issue was discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.
WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said the agreement between India and the US was key to get the multilateral trading system back on track and gave him a basis to intensify his consultations with other WTO members.
For 2015, he has said it is going to be a big year for the WTO with the celebration of its 20th anniversary and the holding of its 10th Ministerial Conference.
Azevedo also said that "we have real deadlines to meet", including developing the work programme on the remaining Doha Round issues by the end of July 2015.
Looking ahead, India also wants to bring back the long-stalled Doha round on the table.
"Doha agenda will be back on tables (in 2015) and we will push for that," Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher told PTI.
Biswajit Dhar, Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University also said that there are a number of pending issues under the Doha Round of talks which India would like to bring on the table next year.
"There are some substantive issues related with agriculture, services and intellectual property rights (IPR). India should also have to look at the Post-Bali work programme. We have to see how effectively we can raise these issues," Dhar said.
