more than a month after the debacle in Cancun, Mexico, where global trade talks collapsed, the stalemate persists. Two crucial World Trade Organization (wto) meetings in Geneva have not yielded any noteworthy results. And while the deliberations have resumed informally, little progress can expected anytime soon.

The heads of delegation (hods) of the wto members met informally on October 14 and formally, under the auspices of the General Council (gc), on October 21. Amid little enthusiasm from members at the informal gathering, gc chairperson Perez del Castillo outlined the process through which he intended to take the negotiations forward. At the gc meet, too, the only decision of any significance was the approval of a proposal by Hong Kong to host the Sixth Ministerial Conference.

The latter meet had an important issue on its agenda. The item for consideration was a proposal put forward by four west and central African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. It countered the content on the