The issue of Doha round of WTO talks dominated the discussions as Prime Minister Manmahon Singh met his British counterpart Gordon Brown here and agreed on the need for pushing the stalled negotiations.
Brown, while favouring cut in farm subsidies in the US and the Europe, voiced optimism that an agreement could be reached in the global trade talks that have got stuck due to stiff opposition by India and some other developing countries on agriculture subsidies.
"We need to understand the sensitivities of rural farmers in India and elsewhere," Brown said at a joint press conference with Singh after their talks on the sidelines of the ongoing Commonwealth Summit here.
"I think there's a consensus about
the things that need to be done," he said, adding "Obviously we need a cut in agricultural subsidies in the European and American markets. We need progress in opening up manufacturing." Asked if he shared Brown's position, Singh said he agreed completely.
"It is very important that in the next few weeks we push hard to get a trade agreement," Brown said.
"I do believe that a number of the outstanding issues can be resolved," he added. The Doha round of talks, launched in 2001, have failed to conclude due to differences between rich and poor nations over farm subsidies and more recently, barriers to manufacturing trade. The British prime minister acknowledged that rich nations would have to ease protections for their farmers.
