Speakers at the international civil society forum in Dhaka yesterday called upon the developed and advanced-developing nations to allow free movement of skilled and less-skilled workers from the LDCs.

They also urged them to provide the products from the least developed countries (LDCs) with duty free market access.

They advised the LDC governments to negotiate with the WTO members and challenge the arguments of developed countries.

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) organised the three-day "International Civil Society Forum 2005 for Advancing LDC Interests in the Sixth WTO Ministerial", which ended yesterday at Sheraton Hotel.


The speakers also urged the LDCs to carry out broader approach of trade facilitation in the Hong Kong Ministerial instead of narrow definition of trade facilitation by the WTO.

Besides, the speakers urged the donor agencies for not putting any additional conditions regarding financial or technical assistance.

The speakers also pointed out that the LDCs should go for multilateral negotiations with the developed countries based on Mode Four instead of bilateral negotiation. They also suggested that the negotiations should protect the interests of the LDCs.

They urged the developed nations to transfer technology from their countries to the LDCs for capacity building.

The speakers suggested the LDC governments should look into the issues of minimum wages of the labourers before liberalising different sectors for foreigners.

WORKING SESSION ON NON-AGRICULTURAL MARKET ACCESS (NAMA)
Annisul Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), and Janet Mbene, programme specialist of Joint Oxfam Livelihoods Initiatives for Tanzania, co-chaired the session.

Addressing the session, Shamima Nasreen, a leader of garment workers, told the seminar that many garment factories were closed down due to trade liberalisation. The garment workers who lost jobs need immediate rehabilitation, otherwise, many of them would be forced to commit suicide, she apprehends.

She also urged the authorities concerned to fix a minimum wage for the garment workers so that the multi-national companies cannot exploit them. She also mentioned that many factories do not comply with the labour laws.

Annisul Huq said the BGMEA had been trying to get duty free access to the US market. A bill has been prepared in this regard and supposed to be placed before the congress very soon, he added.

The USA deprived many LDCs including Bangladesh as it has already given duty free access to 72 sub-Saharan countries, he pointed out.

He observed that although the apparel export had been increasing due to WTO safeguard, the woven garments export to EU countries declined because of strict rules of origin.

He urged the USA to give duty free access to all LDCs and EU to relax the rules of origin.

In draft the declaration, presented by Gigeon T Mwenifumbo, deputy director of National Association of Business Women, Malawi, the Forum recommended for binding commitment for duty-free market access to developed and advanced developed countries, flexible rules of origin, removing non-tariff barriers, binding of unbound tariff lines, trade remedy measures, strengthening of the IF initiative and definition of environmental goods and market access concerns.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, research director of CPD, Chien Yen Goh, representative of Third World Network, Switzerland, and Moushumi Mahapatra, coordinator of Action Aid Bangladesh, presented the keynote papers at the working session.

WORKING SESSION ON GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES (GATS)
Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, executive director of Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, and Kibre Moges, head of Trade and Industry Division of Ethiopian Economic Policy Institute, co-chaired the session.

Sabrina Varma, team leader of Trade in Services, South Centre, Geneva, Ziaul Hoque Mukta, director of Karmojibi Nari, and Amanur Rahman, associate coordinator of Action Aid Bangladesh, presented the keynote papers at the working session.

They said the temporary workers should get temporary citizenship while working in the developed countries. The health, environment and hygiene conditions should also be included in the negotiation, they added.

Presenting the declaration, Ananya Rahman, executive director of D-Net Bangladesh, said Doha Ministerial Declaration stipulated that negotiations shall take place within, and shall respect, the existing structure and principles of the GATS and also reaffirmed that there would be no prior exclusion of any service or mode of supply and MFN exemptions would be subject to negotiations.

In the declaration, the Forum recommended that the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting should consider the issues of recognising the progress in addressing LDCs' concerns, adoption of measures to facilitate TMNP, emergency safeguard, autonomous liberalisation, rule making negotiations, negotiations schedule and improvement of language in LDC modalities.

WORKING SESSION ON TRADE FACILITATION
Kutubuddin Ahmed, president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), and Ahmed Naseem, former director general of Foreign Investments, Ministry of Trade and Industries, Maldives, co-chaired the session.

Presenting the declaration, Yeshy Chen Chen Lham, trade officer of Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said there is no doubt that significant progress in the ongoing negotiations on trade facilitation is of critical importance for the LDCs in order for these countries to be integrated effectively into the international trading system.

"Although a fairly large number of proposals have already been submitted by the WTO members, hardly any tangible development has been noticeable till date," she read out.

In the draft declaration, the Forum strongly urged the WTO members to consider the recommendations of identification of needs and priorities, operationalisation of special and differential provisions, technical assistance and capacity building support, flexibility in implementing commitments, simplifying documentation requirements, assessment of cost implications prior to negotiations, assessment of proposals related to legal obligations, implication of the WCO HS convention, facilitation of improved cooperation among landlocked countries and special attention to the needs of the LDCs.

Syed Saifuddin Hossain, research associate of CPD, Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, deputy chief of Bangladesh Tariff Commission, and Farooq Ahmed, secretary of MCCI, presented keynote papers on trade facilitation at the working session while Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, executive director of CPD, and Alamgir Faruq Chowdhury, former commerce secretary, also took part in the general discussion.

The speakers said benefits from the trade facilitation always go to the recipient or importer countries, not to the exporters. There is hardly any issue in point of exports, they added.

WORKING SESSION ON TRADE-RELATED CAPACITY BUILDING, TRADE, FINANCE AND DEBT
Dr Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, and Nathan Irumba, adviser to Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute, Uganda, co-chaired the working session.

Presenting the draft declaration on trade, development and aid, Chirtabel Phiri, trade programme officer of Civil Society Trade Network of Zambia, said, "Higher allocation and disbursement of aid, more effective trade-related technical assistance and more inclusive debt relief programmes are necessary to strengthen global integration of LDCs."

To address the attendant concerns of LDCs, the Forum in the declaration recommended for support for trade capacity building, policy coherence and more allocation of resources.

Dr Manuel F Montes, regional programme coordinator of UNDP Asia Pacific Trade Initiative, Regional Centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Indah Suksmaningsih, chairperson of Indonesian Consumers Association, presented keynote papers on trade-related capacity building, trade, finance and debt at the working session while Manzur Ahmed, adviser to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Hafiz Chowdhury of MCCI, and Allan Adam Nswilla of Hakikazi Catalyst Arusha, Tanzania, took part in the open discussion.

The speakers said capacity building is very much important for LDCs. Without it, they said, financial or technical assistance provided by the donor agencies may not be helpful or properly utilised.