4th Postponement For Closing Session Of WTO MC13

For the fourth time, the formal closing session of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)'s 13th Ministerial Conference taking place in Abu Dhabi has been postponed. The session is now scheduled for 2000GST (1100ET, 1600GMT. 1700CET), from 1700GST previously. As we noted earlier (see 0846 bullet), disagreements over the Chinese-supported Investment Facilitation Agreement, as well as agriculture, fisheries subsidies, WTO reforms, and e-commerce trade duty moratorium have hindered progress.

• India remains the major holdout on the investment agreement, with the Economic Times of India reporting that South Africa has withdrawn its opposition.
• In a sign of the heightened tensions at the conference, Thailand has recalled its WTO ambassador Pimchanok Vonkorpon Pitfield after India lodged a 'strong protest' against her comments at a consultation meeting on agriculture.
• The India-based Financial Express reports "At the meeting the Thai ambassador had accused India of using food grain stocks procured by the government for a public distribution system to capture the export market for rice. [...] Sources said that Thailand’s attack on Indian position drew a long applause at the meeting from the group of countries who are biggest agriculture exporters and some developed countries."