Dr. Prabhat K. Pankaj, lecturer in Economics, and Mr. Josy Joseph, lecturer in English, who anchored the panel, put the point across that the formation of WTO in 1995, if seen against the rejection of International Trade Organisation (ITO) during 1940s, reflects mainly the convenience of developed countries.

At the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, economist J.M. Keynes presented the case of poor nations by proposing an International Clearing Union, but his original plan was turned down at the behest of the developed nations.

The need of the hour is to revive Keynes’s original plan if poor nations are to get real benefits from the changed international order.

The Uruguay Round of negotiations for GATT opened new avenues for multilateral trade. In the face of differences over "new issues", a draft of over 400 pages was proposed for the member nations to agree upon. This revolutionary draft changed the very face of international trade by making all the signatories equal partners in the world trade and giving birth to a new organisation called WTO.

For the first time it was proposed that all the signatories give the status of Most Favoured Nation (MFN). But to achieve this, several conditions were to be fulfilled by the member countries in the given time frame. This included changes in the policy of tariff and custom duties, changes in the law on patents and so on to be made in line with the agreement.

Developing countries, in particular, are struggling to get the actual meaning of the proposed changes. For most of them the question is still wide open. What are the challenges of the new regime? And more importantly, how to face them to the best of their advantage?

However, the journey to achieve all the requirements and objectives of WTO is still not complete and this is reflected in the outcome of the recently concluded Doha Ministerial Meeting. Developing countries are apprehensive and often critical of the new changes.