Archive for November 19th, 2008
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday poor countries like his must continue speaking with one voice in the Doha round of global trade talks to ensure their competitiveness with developed cou...
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday poor countries like his must continue speaking with one voice in the Doha round of global trade talks to ensure their competitiveness with developed cou...
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
SIEM REAP, Cambodia (
AFP) —
Poor countries must use trade as a tool to survive the financial crisis gripping richer nations, Cambodia's premier told a meeting of officials from developing countries Wednesday.
Trade ministers and representatives from nearly 50 nations under the Least Developed Countries grouping gathered for two days of talks in Cambodia's northwestern tourist town of Siem Reap.
Opening the meeting, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the world's poorest nations were already suffering "a strong trade barrier", with tariffs and strict controls hampering their access to world markets.
With richer governments now suffering from the credit crunch, they may also cut foreign aid, investment and imports, he said.
Hun Sen called on the grouping to find ways to work together to expand exports and attract foreign private capital to help develop their countries.
"Although the world is facing the current financial crisis we must ensure a transparent, stable and feasible business climate," Hun Sen said.
World Trade Organization director general Pascal Lamy told officials at the meeting that the trade deal was now more important than ever to help poor countries.
"There is a strong sense that we are all on the same boat and that we must act and coordinate together if we are to lift ourselves," he said, according to an official transcript of his remarks.
He said the international community needed to keep in mind "the interests of its poorest and weakest members and deliver on the promises" of more and better development aid.
The financial crisis will "no doubt have profound, and possibly prolonged, effects" on poor countries, he said.
A statement from the UN Industrial Development Organization and the WTO, which jointly organised the conference, said the talks should focus on speeding up trade reform in poor countries.
The Doha round of WTO negotiations is also slated to be discussed in Cambodia on Wednesday and Thursday, the statement said.
Attempts to hammer out a global trade pact have repeatedly broken down as the world's poorest nations and economic powers trade blows.
Developing countries have been pressing for greater access to agricultural markets in the industrialised world. Developed nations are in return seeking a better deal for their manufactured products in developing markets.
Lamy said on Monday in Geneva that negotiators must redouble their efforts to conclude a new trade deal by the end of the year.
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday poor countries like his must continue speaking with one voice in the Doha round of global trade talks to ensure their competitiveness with developed countries.
He also lashed out at wealthy nations for maintaining trade barriers that hurt poor countries, such as farm subsidies and high food safety standards.
"Poor countries are always open to products from developed countries, but when we try to enter developed countries, we often are faced with very strong trade barriers," Hun Sen said.
He spoke in a speech opening a two-day conference of industry and trade ministers from 49 so-called least developed countries in Siem Reap province, Cambodia's tourist hub.
Hun Sen called on the countries "to bind together in solidarity and a united voice to lead us to our common success in negotiating" a revival of global trade talks.
The World Trade Organization's Doha Round talks that began in 2001 broke down in July because of a dispute among India, China and the U.S. over tariffs to protect farmers in developing markets.
Hun Sen called for a "win-win" solution to all but said poor countries "must send another clear message" to key players in the negotiation process to ensure "the principle of free and fair trade of the WTO, which is the heart of the development."
Protectionism will only cause more pain to the development prospects of poor countries that are now facing "profound and possibly prolonged effects" from the global financial crisis, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said at the conference.
"They will be left with no means to resort to, especially after the initial squeezes of a general economic slowdown," he said in a speech.
He urged WTO members to agree by the end of the year on methods for settling disagreements on agriculture and industry in order to provide "a stepping stone" toward the conclusion of the Doha Development Round in 2009.
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- A deal on the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha round trade talk is an urgent necessity to help poor countries tackle the current global economic crisis, the organization's Director General Pascal Lamy said on Wednesday.
"In the present economic turmoil, what was necessary yesterday has now become indispensable. ... The international community must deliver on both trade and aid," national television TVK quoted him as telling the opening ceremony of the two-day LDC (least developed countries) Ministerial Conference in Siem Reap province.
"I think there is a growing consensus that only multilateral solutions can address the challenges facing the global economy today," he told the delegates, who came from a total of 49 counties to discuss issues related to international trade.
The Doha round World Trade Organization (WTO) talks began in 2001 but broke down in July this year.
A joint press release from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) said that Wednesday's meeting aims to help LDCs integrate their economies into the global trading system.
One of the main topics is "Aid for Trade" (AfT), a package of incentives designed to help overcome structural and resource constraints of least developed countries in exchange for more speedy trade reforms, it added.
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 19 (PNA/Xinhua) — The bilateral mechanism between Cambodia and Thailand can facilitate both sides to settle their months-long border dispute, Chinese-language newspaper the Jian Hua Daily on Wednesday quoted an official as saying.
However, the time is not ripe yet, as Thailand has to cope with its political turmoil first, Phay Siphan, secretary of state of the Cambodian Council of Ministers, told a seminar here on Tuesday.
An armed clash in October at the border area killed two Cambodian soldiers and wounded two others, after Thai troops entered the disputed there over sovereignty claim.
Both sides then initiated rounds of diplomatic and military talks, but achieved none significant developments.
The Cambodian government has been improving the roads leading to the Preah Vihear Temple, which is the focus of the bilateral border dispute, in order to provide more convenience for its people to visit the site, said Phay Siphan.
"We are worried that the road renovation might become the latest excuse for more Thai troops to enter the area," he said.
"We would report any change within the area to the concerned international organizations (for help and justice)", he added.
The International Court of Justice decided in 1962 that the temple belongs to Cambodia, which has rankled some Thai nationalists who believe in the ownership of the 900-year-old historical site by their own country.
There are now 73 demarcation posts along the 805-km border between Cambodia and Thailand, 50 percent of which are recognized by the Thai side. Cambodia still plans to plant hundreds more posts there in order to specify the border line.
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
19th November 2008AFPPoor countries must use trade as a tool to survive the financial crisis gripping richer nations, Cambodia's premier told a meeting of officials from developing countries on Wednesday.
Trade ministers and representatives from nearly 50 nations under the Least Developed Countries grouping gathered for two days of talks in Cambodia's north-western tourist town of Siem Reap.
Opening the meeting, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the world's poorest nations were already suffering "a trade barrier", with tariffs and strict controls hampering their access to world markets.
With richer governments now suffering from the credit crunch, they may also cut foreign aid, investment and imports, he said.
Hun Sen called on the grouping to find ways to work together to expand exports and attract foreign private capital to help develop their countries.
"Although the world is facing the current financial crisis we must ensure a transparent, stable and feasible business climate," Hun Sen said.
A statement from the UN Industrial Development Organisation and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that jointly organised the conference said the talks should focus on speeding up trade reform in poor countries.
"This meeting in Siem Reap comes at a crucial time for the global economy," WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in the statement.
"The turmoil created by the financial crisis must not distract us from our goal of ensuring that the world's poorest countries have a greater stake in the trading system," said Lamy, who is attending the conference.
The Doha round of WTO negotiations is also slated to be discussed in Cambodia on Wednesday and Thursday, the statement said.
Attempts to hammer out a global trade pact have repeatedly broken down as the world's poorest nations and economic powers trade blows.
Developing countries have been pressing for greater access to agricultural markets in the industrialised world. Developed nations are in return seeking a better deal for their manufactured products in developing markets.
Lamy said on Monday in Geneva that negotiators must redouble their efforts to conclude a new trade deal by the end of the year.
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
PHNOM PENH, Nov 19, 2008 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday criticized rich countries for setting trade barriers against poor ones, while addressing the opening ceremony of the two-day LDC (least developed countries) Ministerial Conference in Siem Reap province.
"Poor countries are always open to products from developed countries, but when we try to enter developed countries, we often face with very strong trade barriers," national television TVK quoted him as telling the delegates from a total of 49 countries to discuss issues related to international trade.
Poor countries like Cambodia must speak with one voice in the Doha round of global trade talks to ensure their competitiveness with developed countries, he added.
The Doha round World Trade Organization (WTO) talks began in 2001 but broke down in July this year.
A joint press release from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) said that Wednesday's meeting aims to help LDCs integrate their economies into the global trading system.
One of the main topics is "Aid for Trade" (AfT), a package of incentives designed to help overcome structural and resource constraints of least developed countries in exchange for more speedy trade reforms, it added.
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
(AFP)--Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has accused the Thai government of using strict laws protecting the monarchy from insults to suppress dissenting voices on the Internet.
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday poor countries like his must continue speaking with one voice in the Doha round of global trade talks to ensure their competiti...
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Posted in Cambodia News | No Comments »
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SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AFP) — Poor countries must use trade as a tool to survive the financial crisis gripping richer nations, Cambodia's premier told a meeting of officials from developing countries Wednesday.