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 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.
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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