India banking on a rainbow coalition for rule-based trade regime: Sharma

The ministerial meeting of the WTO G-20 plus countries, to be held in New Delhi, will energise the process of creating a rainbow coalition of countries which are committed to a fair and equitable trading regime, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said today.

Addressing a meeting of heads of missions on `India and Doha Round' in New Delhi, he informed the gathering that India is hosting the ministerial meeting of the WTO G-20 plus countries on 3 and 4 September 2009, which will bring together trade ministers from all over the world.

India remains committed to the establishment of a rule-based multilateral trading regime although the Doha Round of world trade talks has seen intense negotiations and several ups and downs, he added.

"While we go to the negotiating table, we remain conscious of the interests of the millions of our farmers, the interests of our small and medium enterprises and we remain committed to the aspirations of our booming services industry to get greater market access. I remain optimistic that globally we will be able to find a way forward. It is equally important for countries of the West to acknowledge the historical imbalances which have queried the pitch for the developing world", Sharma said.

He also called upon the mission heads to help the country diversify export markets like Latin America and Africa in order to put the economy back on the high growth path.

"I feel that it is time that we diversify our markets to buffer the impact of this slowdown and also to take us back on high growth trajectory. Africa and Latin America afford a huge opportunity and it shall be my endeavour to intensify our economic engagement with the countries of this region," he said.