The Fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) took place from September 10 to 14 in Cancún, Mexico, and brought together ministers from the 146 member countries.
The Summit ended without an agreement. Neither the constant negotiations nor the third draft of the declaration, presented by the Conference president and Mexican Foreign Minister, Luis Ernesto Dérbez, managed to bridge the gap between the opposing positions of industrialized and developing countries.
The breakdown occurred because several delegations from less developed countries refused to accept the inclusion of the so-called "Singapore issues," which refer to investments, transparency in public procurement, trade facilitation, and competition; while industrialized nations also refused to compromise on agricultural matters.
However, the Cancun negotiations process has shown that WTO reform is needed to ensure more effective participation by developing countries.
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