New Delhi: Ahead of the WTO's (World Trade Organisation) Cancun Ministerial in September, the Left Parties on August 13 said there was a need to mobilise support of like-minded countries especially in Asia to form pressure groups on critical issues.

They also sought a review paper on the country's gains from the multilateral trade regime.

Expressing concern over the level of support given by developed countries to their farmers, the Left Parties including CPI (Communist Party of India) and CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist) said India's economic diplomacy in the areas of multilateral trade should be strengthened.

Continuing the process of consultations with all stakeholders including political parties and trade unions, ahead of the WTO Ministerial, the Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley agreed with the Left Parties that WTO was not a political but a national issue.

Jaitley said there was a consensus, cutting across party lines, in areas where national interests had to be safeguarded, like agriculture and investment.

The Left Parties, represented by Rup Chand Pal, Tarit Baran Topdar, Lakshman Seth and Prabodh Panda, pointed out that Agriculture, Services, Singapore and implementation issues were critical for the country.

PTI