UNCTAD-VII: NEGOTIATIONS RESUME IN CONTACT GROUP.

Jul 30, 1987

UNCTAD-VII: NEGOTIATIONS RESUME IN CONTACT GROUP.

GENEVA, JULY 28 (IFDA/CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN) – Negotiations on sectoral issues were renewed Tuesday at UNCTAD-VII at the level of the President’s Contact Group.

At a meeting of the Contact Group Tuesday, two separate groups were constituted to deal with sectoral issues.

The first, chaired by Samuel Yohai, leader of the Colombia delegation and Director of his country’s Foreign Trade Institute, would deal with various issues in resources for development and least developed countries.

The second group to be chaired by Canada’s W. H. Montgomery will deal with commodity and international trade issues.

Yohai will be assisted by two vice-chairmen, Amb. Makato Taniguchi of Japan who had chaired the Resources Committee, and Amb. Martin Huslid of Norway who had chaired to Committee on LDCS.

Similarly, Montgomery will be assisted by Carlos Perez del Castillo of Uruguay who chaired the Commodities Committee, and Amb. Chak Mun See of Singapore who had chaired the Trade Committee.

The President of the Conference, Bernard Chidzero told both the groups to complete their work and report to him thursday morning, clearly outlining in each of the areas points of agreement and disagreement.

Chidzero, who has left for Harare to present his country’s budget in the parliament on July 29, is returning to Geneva Thursday morning, and intends to take over the negotiations in his own hand, involving about a score of Ministers who are present.