MINISTER of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, KD Knight argued Monday that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) needs to adjust its agenda to accommodate those issues that are of commercial and economic value to developing countries.

“[The WTO] needs a greater balance in its agenda,” Knight told diplomats and other representatives in the trade sector at the opening ceremony of the five-day inaugural Jamaica International Trade Expo at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

According to Knight, the WTO agenda needs to be “more inclusive” and transparent.

“Developing countries must have a say in how the multilateral links are developed…the national interest of Jamaica, Barbados and other developing countries must occupy the primary agenda,” he added.

Knight was referring to the recent WTO talks that collapsed amid serious differences between rich and poor nations. At the meeting in Cancun, developing countries tried to push for rich countries to end their subsidies to their farmers, while European nations and Japan turned their focus to the ”Singapore issues”, which cover foreign investment overseas and policies on competition, corruption and bureaucratic reduction.

But on Monday, Knight insisted that the Cancun talks had not failed, particularly for developing countries.

“There are those who say Cancun was a failure, but it depends on how we define that failure,” he said. “For some, Cancun was a success [because] for the first time, developing countries were ensuring that their agenda was at centrestage.”

“The developing countries, for the first time, were united in purpose, they had a common objective and throughout the proceeding, stuck together,” he added.

The International Trade Expo is being hosted by the Consular Corps of Jamaica and brings together 37 exhibitors from 22 countries showcasing a range of products.

According to dean of the corps, Arnold Foote, the purpose of the expo is to “assist in the development of trade between our members and Jamaica.”

“One of the main functions of a consul is the development of trade,” he said. “The consul can source raw materials, find distributors for Jamaican goods, source new products, encourage join-venture partners, arrange trade missions, find niche markets and find the right products at the right price.”

He said in addition to the main objectives of developing trade, the expo can help restore Kingston as another tourist destination.

The expo ends on Friday.

“We are working very closely with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, JAMPRO, the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, in order to ensure that this brings beneficial results annually for the people of Jamaica,” Foote added.

Meanwhile, Knight is confident that the expo will contribute to the forging of alliances between producers from Jamaica, the region as well as the international community.

“Today we seek to build trade relations on the basis of rules and fairplay… this is what Jamaica seeks as it engages fully in the multilateral trading system,” Knight said. “We can only achieve this by setting the right framework at the regional and international levels and by creating opportunities for growth and development for all.”