Aid organisations call on WTO to cancel major trade meeting

Geneva, April 19 (AP) - Aid and advocacy groups from around the world on Tuesday called on WTO chief Pascal Lamy to cancel a major trade meeting scheduled for the end of this month, saying many poor countries are being excluded from talks.

In a letter to Lamy, 125 organisations - including Oxfam, ActionAid and Third World Network - said the World Trade Organization was trying to force agreement on trade liberalization against opposition from a majority of its 149 members.

'These are the same countries which now face a Doha Round conclusion that, if implemented, would harm the majority of their populations,' the letter said. 'The manner in which the negotiations process has been dominated by the interests of the rich and powerful countries which have forced development issues off the agenda.'

Lamy's spokesman, Keith Rockwell, stressed that a formal ministerial meeting later this month hadnot yet been confirmed and that much depends on how much preparatory work negotiators can complete this week.

'There is no invitation-only process. If ministers choose to come, they come,' Rockwell said.