India also said that domestic fishermen follow sustainable fishing practices and any agreement on the sector should keep in mind the interests and welfare of the fishing community.
The Indian delegation is led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The four-day 13th ministerial conference (MC13) will start on February 26 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI) India on Friday expressed hope that other countries will come to the WTO meet in Abu Dhabi with a positive attitude and listen to the concerns of developing nations for providing free and fair solutions to their problems.
India and South Africa will block a proposal led by China, which is being backed by over 120 countries, to have an investment facilitation agreement at the WTO. Separately, it is against any further extension of the customs duty moratorium on e-commerce trade as developing countries are seen to be losing close to $10 billion annually, with the cost for India alone estimated at $500 million.
New Delhi is of the view that e-commerce needs to be looked at from a development dimension and not from the “eyes of big tech companies”. The moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions is in place since 1998 and gets extended every two years when the WTO ministerial conferences take place. “There is no question of extending the moratorium. We have given a final extension. There will be no more extension…We are in favour of continuation of the work programme,” said the official.