Dawn Breaker's Reflections

A formal relaunch of the stalled global trade talks was deferred for at least two months yesterday after the World Trade Organisation admitted that deep differences between rich and poor countries among its 146 members had yet to be settled(WN)...The Guardian

As failed efforts to revitalize the Doha Round Trade Talks in Geneva, Switzerland this week brought about disillusion and skepticism among world leaders, not all was gloom; trade representatives of the "G-20", a group of 20 developing nations from the Southern Hemisphere that successfully derailed the Cancun WTO ministerial meeting this summer over a disagreement with wealthier WTO nations on agricultural subsidies and tariffs, expressed solidarity and a unified vision for the future of world trade among developing countries, and shared optimisim and excitement over a recent Brazilian proposal for a free trade zone (FTZ) for developing countries that would span virtually the entire planet. The new FTZ was proposed by Brazilian president Lula at last weekend's G-20 summit in Brazil.

The process of unification that is currently taking place among G-20 nations has led to the development of a strong collective voice for developing nations in the WTO and the International community that can no longer be ignored (together, G-20 nations account for more than half of the world's population, and have economies that are growing at more than twice the rate of non-member nations), and brings hope that there may be a bright future for developing countries in our future global economy as their requests are listened to and acted upon. Many of the leaders of the G-20 have expressed optimism over the resumption of the Doha Round Trade Talks, and believe the goal of reaching an agreement in 2004 and final implementation in 2005 by the WTO can be attained despite the many challenges and obstacles that lay ahead.

As more and more nations begin to engage in multilateral commerce and trade without barriers in larger and larger circles of unity, the economies of these same nations will begin to flourish and prosper, while nations that do not wish to commit to and engage in such endeavors will find themselves gradually impoverished and in great debt.

To close this post, a short but powerful quote:

"So powerful is the light of Unity, it can illumine the whole earth." - Baha'u'llah