Stalled Cancun talks must start soon: WTO

The world trade body must restart the stalled Cancun talks to liberalise global trade and reach a new deal to liberalise global commerce such that member nations do not miss out on economic opportunities, WTO director general Supachai Panitchpakdi said.

It is now time to craft a concrete trade pact to benefit both the rich and the poor, he told a meeting of CEO’s being held on the sidelines of the annual Apec summit. “What we need is to translate the political will into terms of action,” he told over 500 executives of top world corporations who have paid $3,000 per head to attend the Apec CEO conference.

The two-day summit of world leaders begins here on Monday. “I call it flexibility, compromise or give and take. We need an approach of give and take to take this round to an end,” he added.

Meanwhile Chinese President Hu Jintao has defended his country’s policy of keeping its currency low against the dollar, saying it serves Beijing’s economic performance and conformed to the requirements of economic development in the Asia Pacific region and the whole world.