WTOs 5th day meet: Talks on to break impasse over agri, fisheries issues
Abu Dhabi (PTI): The meeting of the highest decision making body of the WTO on Friday entered the fifth day with key members including India, the US and EU holding talks to iron out differences on issues such as agriculture, fisheries subsidies, and duty moratorium on e-commerce trade.
The 13h ministerial conference (MC), which was to end on February 29, extended for a day as developing and developed nations were unable to find a common ground on these key issues.
The members are talking to end the impasse and so far things have not moved much, an official said.
"There are nine countries in the Green Room meeting including Brazil and China. The negotiations have been extended as WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is pushing for outcomes," the official said.
However, officials here are not sounding positive so far about bridging the differences and coming out with a ministerial declaration, which is a must for the success of the conference.
India has clearly stated that finding a permanent solution to the public stockholding of grains for food security purposes should be the top priority before taking up any new issues in the agriculture sector.
There are major differences among rich nations also on issues related to market access for agri commodities. There are seven agri matters which include export restrictions.
An official said talks are going on among the member nations on all the issues and India is clearly stating that it will not compromise the interests of farmers and fishermen.
New Delhi is pressing for a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding of grains for food security programmes and has asked developed countries engaged in distant water fishing to stop providing any kind of subsidies for 25 years.
India is also pressing for an end to the moratorium on imposing customs duties on e-commerce trade.
India and South Africa have blocked a proposal led by China on investment facilitation stating that the agenda is out of the WTO mandate.
India has also asked for the restoration of the appellate body of the WTO's dispute settlement system. The US has been blocking the appointments of judges in the body since 2019, due to which the system is not working smoothly.
New Delhi is pitching for finding a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding (PSH) for its food security programmes.
PSH programme is a policy tool under which the government procures crops like rice and wheat from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP) and stores and distributes foodgrains to the poor.
As part of a permanent solution, India has asked for measures like amendments in the formula to calculate the food subsidy cap.
Further, the talks on non-trade issues such as trade inclusiveness, women's participation in trade, industrial policy and environment, in the draft Abu Dhabi package also remained unresolved so far.
However, the ministerial has managed to get at least five outcomes such as new disciplines on domestic regulation for services, formal joining of Comoros and Timor-Leste as members of the WTO, and least developing countries continuing to get the benefits of LDC even three years after graduation.
Besides, India is also pushing for the adoption of open and interoperable payment systems with a view to cut the cost of money transfers or remittances as the dominance of a few large players in the market contributes to these high costs through complex and opaque fee structures.
According to an expert, the challenge of high remittance costs, averaging 6.18 per cent globally, are well above the United Nation's target of 3 per cent.
MC is the highest decision-making body of the 166-member Geneva-based multilateral body. As many as 22 more nations have shown interest to join the organisation.
At the meeting of the Heads of Delegation on 28 February, DG Okonjo-Iweala has called on members to go the extra mile to find convergence on various negotiations at the ministerial gathering and to be mindful that time is running out to conclude meaningful agreements.
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Junior Hockey World Cup: IndiGo crisis disrupts travel plans of players' families, fans
Chennai (PTI): For Kate, the dream was simple -- to watch her son Fahy Noah play for the Australian team in the Junior Hockey World Cup here and visit the Taj Mahal.
But her plans, like those of many others, have been upended by the operational crisis that has hit IndiGo, India's largest domestic airline.
"I am here for the first time and India is so kind and welcoming. We were hoping to see the Taj Mahal, but with the IndiGo problems, we are a bit scared now," Kate, who has come from Brisbane, told PTI outside the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here.
"One family went on a rest day and got stuck overnight. I think we will have to cancel all our travel plans now, though seeing the Taj Mahal was on my bucket list for long," she said.
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This is the first time that 24 teams are participating in the Junior Hockey World Cup, being held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10. For most players and their families, it is their maiden trip to India. Many NRIs have also flown in to support the Indian team.
However, the widespread flight delays and cancellations have thrown schedules into chaos. IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights last week, citing regulatory changes in the pilots' flight duty and regulations norms. This resulted in lakhs of passengers getting stuck at airports across the country.
Laura, who has come from Belgium with her entire family to support her son, said they are now travelling by road.
"We are happy to be here in this beautiful country. We went to Munnar and Madurai, and now we are planning to go to Puducherry and Mahabalipuram by road," she said.
"We had taken IndiGo flights earlier, but some other families who travelled on different days got stuck and somehow managed to come back by train. So we are not flying anywhere in India now. Road travel only and then back to Brussels next week," she said.
For 87-year-old Kenyan hockey legend Avtar Singh Sohal, a four-time Olympian and a lifelong supporter of Indian hockey, the crisis was particularly distressing. He spent 12 gruelling hours at the Chandigarh airport on December 4 before finally reaching Chennai just in time for the quarterfinals.
"Our IndiGo flight was delayed by 12 hours. We were at the airport from 7 am to 7 pm. They kept giving excuses -- the aircraft has not arrived, the pilot is not available. We had no idea what was actually happening," he said.
Accompanying Sohal was 85-year-old Tarlok Singh Mandair, a former treasurer of the English Hockey Association, who had flown in from London.
"It was a horrible experience. They kept changing the timings from 12 noon to 4 pm and we finally took off at 7:20 pm. They gave us sandwiches which were not even good," Mandair recalled.
"Our return flight is also on IndiGo, but now we are exploring other options," he said.
Jujhar Singh Plaha, 86, from London, who was on the same flight, said his excitement has turned into anxiety.
"We were so excited about this trip; hockey is our first love. But this (IndiGo crisis) spoiled our mood. Now we are worried about returning because at our age, we cannot travel long distances by train or road," he said.
Jason, the father of Australian player Roger Lachlan, has had an eventful trip to India so far -- beginning with the rain in Chennai triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
"We are from Hobart -- home of Ricky Ponting and David Boon. We arrived after a cyclone, which caused heavy rain. Now the sun is out and we are enjoying ourselves," he said with a smile.
Jason, too, has shelved all further travel plans.
"No sightseeing now. We will just eat, swim and head back. I am loving masala dosa, masala tea and curries," he said.
Some fans from Bengaluru, who had booked their flight tickets months in advance, decided not to take a risk. They opted for refunds and drove down to Chennai on Sunday to catch the semifinal.
"With flight uncertainty and trains full, we drove down. We did not want to miss India in the semis," said Vinod Chinnappa, who drove for six hours to come here.
Even officials have not been spared by the flight disruptions.
Digvijay Singh, an official of the Hockey India League franchise, waited eight hours at the Patna airport to catch a flight to Chennai.
"I did not want to miss the India-Belgium quarterfinal, so I waited. I finished all episodes of (web series) Family Man at the lounge," he said.
"I had gone to Patna from Delhi for a meeting earlier in the day and then needed to connect to Chennai," Singh said.
With the World Cup set to wrap up in two days, uncertainty about people's plans to return home looms large.
With prices of alternative flights rising and train seats nearly impossible to find, fans, officials, families and journalists are monitoring travel apps as closely as match updates.
If the situation does not improve soon, returning home could be as challenging as winning matches on the field.
