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> Salzburg seminar: “Realizing the Doha Development Agenda as if the Future Mattered”

The retreat, held in Salzburg, Austria, from 16-20 February, brought together 50 leading figures from government, industry and civil society who are based in developed, developing and least-developed countries. Director-General Pascal Lamy opened the meeting and a number of WTO negotiating chairs participated in the session. By putting the Doha negotiations into a global context and clarifying the potential gains and costs that may arise from a failure of the talks, participants sought to lay the political groundwork for resolving current differences while building momentum for a conclusion.

The retreat was organized by three non-profit foundations with global missions: the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Salzburg Seminar. Significant expertise and programme support was provided by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and other leading institutions.

The presenters at the seminar were:

• Ann Tutwiler, Managing Director, Trade and Development, Global Development Program, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, who provided an overview of the discussions in Salzburg, focussing on trade-offs and potential cross-linkages among negotiating issues.

• Ricardo Melendez, Chief Executive, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, who talked about the relevance of long-term perspectives at this time of the negotiations.

• Randall Soderquist, Director, Economic Policy Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, who addressed the political factors in the United States which could impact on a successful conclusion of the Doha negotiations.

• Edward Mortimer, Senior Vice-President and Chief Program Officer at the Salzburg Seminar, who explained the format and procedures of the retreat