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BANGLADESH will continue to pursue the issue of special and differential (S&D) treatment for the LDCs at the World Trade Organisation along with its previous demand for duty- and quota-free market access. Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowhdury Monday said that until and unless these issues (S&D and market access) were appropriately addressed the global trade regime would remain skewed in favour of the more powerful countries. "LDCs will not be able to resort to the dispute settlement process of the WTO unless the S&D measures are really taken care of," Khosru told newsmen after attending a seminar on `Dispute Settlement in the WTO' organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue. He also said that a list of recommendations on S&D has been proposed for the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). The proposals included arranging the settlement of disputes in the capitals of least developed countries, granting LDC members of the WTO more time to reply to complaints made by developed members, inclusion of LDC representatives in the panel of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) if an LDC member is involved in the case. It could prove to be beneficial for the LDCs if the ruling was adopted on the basis of individual deliberations of the panel members by majority instead of the whole panel coming up with one decision unanimously, he said. "In order to build sufficient capacity in terms of expertise and research work, LDCs needed monetary assistance, which could be arranged from the WTO itself or the Global Trust Fund," Khosru mentioned, Khosru also said that similar proposals were being worked under SAFTA. "However these [proposals] have not yet been incorporated into any agreement per se under the WTO, but we intend to pursue them in earnest." Mohammed Faruk Khan, Awami League lawmaker and whip of the Opposition told New Age later that despite their reservations about the state of affairs of the internal economy of the country, the Opposition did not have any qualms regarding inter-national trade matters. "I believe that it is appropriate for the commerce minister to be addressing these long neglected issues at the multilateral frame-work. He has our full support and we hope that he will be successful in realising these demands at the international levels," said Faruk Khan, who also attended the seminar.