New Delhi: Describing the Cancun meet as a historic turn in WTO (World Trade Conference), Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley on September 19 categorically said India will not blame anyone for the collapse of the meeting but will continue to engage in the future negotiations positively.

"Now the blame game is on. India is not going to take part in it. We will continue to engage positively till the end. We will have to pick up the threads from where they have been left at Cancun and take the process ahead at WTO," Jaitley said after his felicitation at the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) headquarters.

Pointing out that the equilibrium at WTO had changed, he said for the first time in its history there were equitable negotiations with developing countries led by India, Brazil and China being able to make themselves heard forcefully.

"This was a change which was visible in this meeting (Cancun). The combined voice of developing nations was being heard at par with rich nations like US and EU," he said.

Taking a dig at EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy who called WTO a medieval organisation after Cancun collapse, he said it was only in ancient institutions that unilateral decisions were made and the multilateral organisation had become truly democratic now by listening even to developing countries' concerns.

"This change would have to be accepted by the Western world, which always thought they could divide the developing nations' alliances by putting pressure," he said.

Jaitley said WTO can move forward only by consensus and this had become very clear at Cancun when the alliances formed by developing nations, G-21 on agriculture and G-16 on Singapore issues of trade and investment, competition polices, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement, stayed together till the end.

"Every time we were at the receiving end but this time we were on the offensive," Jaitley said, adding that the countries were almost close to an agreement when some of the African countries walked out leading to collapse of Cancun.

He said the intense consultations with political parties, trade unions, non-governmental organisations, think-tanks, industry and trade advisory bodies, held ahead of Cancun meet, made it clear that everyone was in favour of protecting national interests.

Stating that while India had got isolated at Doha, he said at Cancun majority of WTO members were supportive of India's stand and stood by it.

Earlier, felicitating Jaitley, BJP president Venkaiah Naidu said he had made India proud by leading the developing countries against the pro-developed agenda at WTO.

Praising Jaitley's role, Naidu said he had carried forward what Murasoli Maran had started at Doha and made India's voice heard at WTO loud and clear by taking the initiative and forming alliances.

PTI WTO meet–Battle between the rich and the poor!