If the Round is to live up to its promise of furthering the "development dimension" in the trade talks, Dr. Supachai said in his keynote address, it must "address key obstacles such as tariff peaks on textiles, footwear and many agricultural products, trade-distorting subsidies in the agricultural sector, and intensive restrictions on the movement of natural persons in the services sector". At the same time, the Round should "correct existing imbalances" in the rights and obligations of the multilateral trading regime.

The meeting - a one-day workshop on South-South trade, co-organized by UNCTAD and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) - examined a joint JETRO-UNCTAD publication on South-South trade in Asia: the role of regional trade agreements. Participants representing the Japanese government, private sector, academia and diplomatic missions looked at the implications of South-South Asian trade and RTAs for Asian developing countries, lessons for other developing regions and South-South trade in general. A panel discussion followed on issues raised by the research findings and on the future analytical and research agenda for economic cooperation among developing countries.

The meeting marks the first of two UNCTAD XII pre-events on this publication. The second meeting will be held in Geneva on 2 April.

Also during his stay in Japan, Dr. Supachai called on Mr. Akira Amari, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Mr. Hitoshi Kimura, Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. He briefed them on preparations for UNCTAD XII and called for more intensive cooperation between UNCTAD and Japan.