The current standoff between rich and poorer countries on issues of good governance and access to world markets is likely to continue until the ”last minute” of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, officials said on Sunday.
They said holding back on commitments to good governance was the only real bargaining chip developing countries had to win concessions on equitable access to the markets of the developed
world.
”It is quite normal in negotiations like these for people to want to hang on to the last minute.”
Delegates have been in discussions over the weekend to try and resolve — ahead of the official start of the WSSD on Monday — sticking points that emerged at the last preparatory conference in Bali.
The two-day Vienna-style talks have been described as a ”last-ditch” attempt to break the deadlock.
The weekend’s negotiations were chaired by South Africa’s ambassador to the United Nations, Dumisani Kumalo.
Speaking on condition of anonymity in Johannesburg, officials said developing countries were essentially in agreement with the governance principles developed countries were insisting on before they agreed to ease access to their markets.
But negotiators for developing countries did not want to move too quickly on the governance issue.
”This is their only bargaining chip,” officials said. ”So, they have to maintain a fine balance in movement on the two issues in order to retain an incentive for compromise.”
To signal their willingness to move on the governance issue, developing countries had at the end of the two-day informal talks agreed to enter into another round of discussions on the matter at a lower level.
Other outstanding issues to be tackled by heads of government delegations, including ministers, next week included the questions such as sanitation and energy targets.
Officials appeared to unperturbed by reports of pessimism about the summit culminating in a meaningful global agreement on sustainable development.
”We expect all of the outstanding matters to be resolved by the ministers. The atmosphere is fine,” officials said.
Delegations have a week to reach agreement on the outstanding issues, failing which it will be up to the heads-of-state portion of the summit — from September 2 to 4 — to do so. – Sapa
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