Mahathir urges WTO to heed weaker economies

["Ulhas Joglekar" <ulhasj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

3 December 1999
Mahathir urges WTO to heed weaker economies
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: The World Trade Organisation should heed the views
of developing nations, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad said on
Thursday, especially in the light of the demonstrations outside a free-trade
meeting in the US.
"People are protesting against the WTO because the powerful economic forces
wanted to spread their tentacles in order to be able to take over,
literally, the whole world," Mahathir was quoted as saying by the national
Bernama news agency.
"If the WTO is to work, it should take into consideration all the views of
the weaker economies," Mahathir said on the sidelines of an air show on the
northern Malaysian resort island of Langkawi.
The world will only have a fair trade regime if the rich and powerful accept
the claims of others, he said.
"We must never think that what one country can do, the other country can
also do," Mahathir said.
Mahathir, a perennial critic of bodies like the International Monetary Fund
and the WTO, has long championed the cause of Third World nations, saying
the West often exploits these countries. (Associated Press)
For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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