Johannesburg, 02/06 — Strong motivation and political will exist to conclude a broad Doha trade agreement this year, even if some of the details have to be deferred for future negotiation, Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean said yesterday.

The Doha negotiations, which are entering their 10th year, aim to help developing countries grow through trade but they have become bogged down over developed countries' insistence on retaining agricultural subsidies while requiring developing countries to open their
markets.

World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy said in December he wanted agreement on the formulas to apply to a Doha treaty by the end of next month.

Crean, who is visiting SA this week to attend the Mining Indaba in Cape Town and hold talks with South African ministers, said the date of the next Doha meeting was still being debated. Next month was an important deadline for a framework agreement because after that there would be several opportunities for senior ministerial engagement in the lead up to the Group of 20 (G-20) meeting in Canada in June.

Crean admitted there was "scepticism and wry smiles" about the likelihood of concluding a Doha treaty, but two things were strongly in its favour. The first was that there was buy-in by G-20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Community leaders to help conclude it. If participants could achieve a breakthrough on the broader issues, some of the details could be solved later.

The second favourable aspect was that a Doha agreement would provide stimulus to the global economy, as trade has been hit by the financial crisis. "Trade is a multiplier for economic growth, in itself it is an economic stimulus and it does not hit the budget," he said.

Crean said Australia considered Africa an important investment destination, a view it shares with China, which recently overtook the US as Africa's largest trading partner.

But Crean rejected the suggestion that Australia was competing with China in Africa. He said Australia's investment approach was different. Australia emphasised capacity building and corporate social responsibility, not only in the minerals resources sector but in agriculture, where it had built expertise in dry land production and water conservation. These were all critical issues for developing countries: food security, energy and resources security, skills development and water use.

Crean said he would be discussing how SA and Australia would develop and strengthen their relationship with Trade Minister Rob Davies.