WTO: India Seeks Africa Support, Says A Genuine Fight For Poor


NEW DELHI: India said its tough stand at WTO is a "genuine fight" to provide food security to poor in the developing countries, while seeking Africa's support in the on the food security issue.

"Our friends from Africa have to be conscious of the fact that what is being perceived as a fight which is being undertaken by India is not a fight for purposes of protecting Indians interests.

"This is a fight which is a genuine fight, which is a fight which is at the root of an independent nations sovereign right to provide food security to its poor citizens," Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher said at a CII function.

He was addressing representatives of the regional economic communities of Africa.

India's tough stand on the food security issue had led to collapse of the recent talks in Geneva.

India had refused to ratify WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement, which is dear to the developed world, without any concrete movement in finding a permanent solution to its public food stock-holding issue for food security purposes.

India had asked the WTO to amend the norms for calculating agri subsidies in order to procure foodgrains from farmers at minimum support price and sell that to poor at cheaper rates without attracting any penalty in the WTO.

The current WTO norms limit the value of food subsidies at 10 per cent of the total value of food grain production. However, the support is calculated at the prices that are over two decades old.

Also Read:
Countries With the Highest Life Expectancy

Source: PTI