Nath urges UNTAD to bridge gap among developing countries

New Delhi, Oct 4 (UNI) Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath today underlined the importance of South-South trade saying that trade exchanges among developing countries constitute a promising area of current and future trade growth.

Mr Nath cited the UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2005, according to which the share of South-South exports in total developing country exports increased from 97 billion dollar (27 per cent) in 1985 to 921 billion dollar (43 per cent) in 2003.

''Exploring the full potential of South-South trade remains a desirable objective. Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) is an important vehicle for promoting South-South cooperation. We are actively participating in the ongoing third round of negotiations of the GSTP that was launched at Sao Paulo in 2004, and would like to see its early successful conclusion,'' he said at a high level policy dialogue on 'UNCTAD and Development: The Way Forward' during the UNCTAD mid-term review in Geneva today.

UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) must act as an effective bridge between developed and developing countries on the entire range of issues relating to globalisation, trade and development, he added.

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