Annan in world trade plea

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for reviving global trade liberalisation talks so that developing countries can use trade to lift millions out of poverty.

Annan, making his first trip to the Dominican Republic, said the World Trade Organisation’s long-struggling Doha round of trade talks were in “crisis”.

“I used the word crisis – I didn’t say it’s dead,” Annan said in a speech at the presidential palace in the capital of Santo Domingo. “I hope it can be revived, because most of the countries would want to trade themselves out of poverty rather than live on handouts.”

The global trade liberalisation deal, which emphasises lowering commercial barriers for developing countries such as the Dominican Republic, collapsed during last month’s WTO meeting in Geneva after five years of negotiations between rich and poor nations.