The meeting discussed agricultural domestic support which had distorted world trade. The issue is planned to be iterated in a joint statement and a discussion proposal regarding domestic support
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia supports the discussion of agricultural issues at the 12th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference, scheduled to be held in Kazakhstan in June 2020, Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto has stated. He made the statement during a meeting with Cairns Group 2020 in between the activities in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"The meeting discussed agricultural domestic support which had distorted world trade. The issue is planned to be iterated in a joint statement and a discussion proposal regarding domestic support," he said in a statement received here, Tuesday.

Suparmanto was invited to the meeting by Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Investment of Australia, Simon John Birmingham, who is also the coordinator of the Cairns Group.

In addition to the proposed draft, the Group have also included a number of elements that were deemed proportional, as well as accommodating to the interests of developing countries, such as Indonesia, and the least developed countries (LDCs) in relation to agricultural domestic subsidies.

In general, Indonesia is also interested in completing negotiations on the issue of domestic subsidies aside from the Public Stock Holding (PSH) for security purposes and Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), as they are the latest issues of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) which is in the interests of developing nations, the minister further said.

Also, he had met with Indian Minister for Trade Piyush Goyal in Davos, Switzerland.

The two ministers discussed a number of issues related to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and intentions to increase trade cooperation between Indonesia and India. (INE)

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Translator: Aria Cindyara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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