It is good that the Doha trade round has new life, after a framework for future negotiations was agreed in Geneva. The World Trade Organisation always does the right thing - albeit the long way and the wrong way round. Essentially, the 147 members agreed to a programme and timeline that should have been settled at last year's ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico. Momentum is important to negotiations, otherwise energy goes into contradictory, exclusive bilateral and regional agreements. So, multilateralism lives again; although it was never really dead, despite the obituaries by some commentators and pressure groups. Why did it take so long to confirm and structure real negotiations, given that the membership of the WTO agreed to the agenda in Doha? Again, agriculture became the focus of foot-dragging. This new agreement gives the agricultural protectionists and subsidisers a little more room for manoeuvre. However, it was correct to do the deal. Yes, I would probably have compromised, too. But it is sad that the intellectual and economic arguments that you liberalise trade to help yourself seem to have been lost. Trade liberalisation between developing countries is necessary if places like Africa are to move ahead. It is no accident that the poorest places are always the most protected economies. It is disappointing, too, that to get an agreement, the Europeans and the Japanese compromised and lowered their ambitions in areas such as investment, competition and transparency in government procurement. For many countries without domestic competition law, it is too early. But commitments to capacity-building domestically, and revisiting these subjects in a few years, or on an 'opt in and opt out' clause should have done the trick. At least they have kept trade facilitation on the agenda, and all the savings and anti-corruption implications implicit in these negotiations. Procurement is also an area of good governance; simple transparency should not have harmed anyone. Still, you can only do what members allow. That is how it should be. Now, we can look forward to headlines saying: 'Talks flounder', 'Momentum lost' and 'Regionalism growing'. Negotiators need to work very hard and very privately to advance the round if it is to conclude next year, as recently suggested. That is already a year late, but it could be done. Despite Senator John Kerry's rhetoric about the US losing jobs because of China and trade deals, when it mattered, he supported former president Bill Clinton's trade agenda, which was promoted by previous presidents. National interest does not change with administrations. It is heartbreaking that while the negotiations splutter, the poorest countries suffer the most. Yet they need not wait - they can purchase tickets to prosperity by liberalising trade and opening their markets to each other. This, coupled with strong, predictable commercial law, property rights, democracy and an effective public service, makes all the difference. Speakers in Geneva or at the United Nations, repeating the obvious about the evil inheritance of colonialism, is not enough. They also have to buy the ticket. All this reminds me of the story of a religious man who prayed several times a day, urging God to let him win the million-dollar lottery prize. It went on for years, and finally even God got impatient. With a flash of lightening, God appeared before the man and said: 'Give me a break, help me out here - buy a ticket.' Mike Moore, a former prime minister of New Zealand, was the first director-general of the World Trade Organisation
