WTO talks venue in doubt

Qatar has already spent $30m on preparing for the WTO meeting

By the BBC's Lesley Curwen

There's been increasing speculation that next month's World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference may change its venue.

The WTO had planned to meet in Doha, in the Gulf State of Qatar.

Now, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick have both said the planned location is now under review for security reasons.

Another hint comes from the communique issued by the AsiaPacific economic forum in Shanghai, which endorsed the launch of new trade liberalisation talks, but pointedly left out the name of the venue for the meeting.

Singapore has already said that it would be prepared to act as host, if necessary.

The WTO has said no decision has been taken about whether to change the venue.

A full general council meeting in Geneva would be required to change the venue, and as there is only a month to go, the decision may be at short notice.

Preparations underway

The oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar has already spent $30m (£21m) on preparing for the WTO meeting.

Being the host city brings huge prestige, and it would be embarassing for Qatar if it changed.

But it would be worse still if Qatar pressed ahead and some important delegations refused to go over security worries.

Trade ministers argue, the world desperately needs a successful round of global trade talks to kickstart confidence, in the midst of the current economic downturn.