Vítor Abdala
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Pretoria (South Africa) - The heads of State who participated yesterday (12) in the Progressive Governance Summit in Pretoria, South Africa, concluded that the Doha Round, that is, the negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the future of agricultural subsidies in the developed countries and the penetration of industrial goods and services in the poorer countries, has to be finished soon. This information was provided at the end of the first session of the Summit by the minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim.

According to Amorim, during the meeting president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for an end to agricultural subsidies in Europe and the United States. "The Round must be concluded soon. This is an economic, political, and social necessity. It is needed in order to end poverty and avoid threats to world order," the chancellor affirmed. Amorim said that all seven leaders who participated in the Summit agreed that the chief beneficiaries have to be the poorest countries, including ones in Latin America, such as Bolivia and Paraguay.

The meeting was attended by the heads of State of Brazil, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, Ethiopia, Sweden, and South Korea. The director of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, and the European Union trade commissioner, Peter Mendelson, were also present.

Translation: David Silberstein