Ahead of the crucial World Trade Organisation General Council meeting in Geneva next week, India on Saturday said it would not compromise on food security and livelihood concerns and demanded substantial changes in the draft framework to make it acceptable.
"There could be no compromise on our national interest. The draft has to be substantially improved to reflect developing countries' concerns," Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath told PTI before leaving for Geneva to attend the crucial three-day meeting beginning on July 27.
Whatever developed nations wanted had got clearly reflected in the draft, he said, adding what developing countries' want has been put in a very open-ended way and it may or may not be reflected.
Nath said G-20 had already made it clear that draft proposals on agriculture put forward by the WTO's chief negotiator on July 16 favoured the demands of developed countries and it needed "important changes and improvements" before they could accept it.
The statement issued by the group of developing countries, which include India, Brazil, South Africa and China said, "There is a clear imbalance between certain major points that are guaranteed at the outset for developed countries and other points of fundamental importance for developing countries."
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