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Briefing
Legal assistance centre set up for poorest nations
WTO ministers signed an agreement on Wednesday setting up an advisory centre to give the world's poorest countries access to legal assistance and training in international trade matters. "I am convinced that it (the centre) will be a significant tool to enhance the participation of developing countries" in the work of WTO, Dutch trade minister Gerrit Ybema said at the signing ceremony. The centre is an "idea whose time has come. The principle of effective access to justice, in addition to formal equality before the law," Ybema said. Trade ministers from some 30 of WTO's 135 member countries signed the agreement setting up the centre, and other WTO members were invited to join the initiative. The idea for the centre was launched last year in a bid to meet criticism that developing countries are at a disadvantage in international trade negotiations because of a lack of legal and technical expertise. It is being funded by donations from member countries, led by nine chiefly European countries plus Canada who have pledged $1 million or more apiece. Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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