Doha Round can't be allowed to lapse: Anand Sharma

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said the Doha round of world trade talks should be taken forward as a single undertaking without losing its focus on the developmental dimension of the round.

"The terms of the discourse can't be changed," Sharma said, adding that developing countries are now being asked to pay an unconscionably high price to conclude the Round.

"This certainly was not our expectation and our commitment when we agreed to participate in the Round" the minister said at the inaugural function of Regional Trade Policy Course 2011, at the Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign trade, in New Delhi today.

The minister, however, was emphatic "we must not allow this round to collapse." It was important to sustain people's faith in multilateral Institutions, he added.

"Many skeptics today feel that the WTO is at cross-roads and that the lack of progress in the Doha Round raises questions on the relevance and efficacy of this institution. We do not share this pessimism," he said.

He said any failure of global trade negotiations would lead to inward looking policies and promote protectionism, which will be counterproductive, delay the recovery and deepen recession.