"I urge the trade ministers to devise a mechanism so that they get a fair deal, are not asked to make any more sacrifices and their share of the world trade reaches a respectable level," she said.

Khaleda made the call at the inaugural session of the Second LDC Trade Ministers' Meeting yesterday.

The session was attended exclusively by trade ministers from 23 LDCs.

Fifteen other LDCs were represented by their officials.

The prime minister said, "On the complex matters of international trade, we need strong political will and the desire to work together with all in order to achieve our shared goals in the days to come."

The most conspicuous issue of concern for the LDCs is access of their goods to markets of the developed countries, she said

Chaired by Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, the session was also addressed by Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Kipkorir Aly Azad Rana and Deputy Secretary General of UNCTAD Carlos Fortin.

Khaleda said the concerns of the LDCs need to be adequately addressed for their integration into global trade. "We should receive full support from the developed countries because we are highlighting the legitimate interests of the most disadvantaged countries of the world."

If the LDCs adopt a common stand on matters of interest, they can significantly increase their negotiating capability, she felt.

The prime minister said the LDCs must hammer on the implementation issues, as may be relevant to them, within the framework of negotiations in the WTO General Council.

They should approach their development partners for implementation of their repeated commitments on subsidies, services, special and differential treatment and other areas, approved and decided at the third UN LDC conference in Brussels, she said.

The prime minister felt the LDCs should also press for measures to reduce or remove tariff escalation since it adversely affects their exports to the developed countries.

About free flow of labour in the globalised world, Khaleda said a good number of the LDCs have abundant and unskilled manpower, but some barriers do not allow them to participate effectively in the globalisation of services.

Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the multilateral trade system gives very little attention to the LDCs' needs, primarily because it is dominated by developed countries.

"We are asked to make commitments, and accept rules that are extremely restrictive. There is no coherence in the policies followed by multilateral institutions," the commerce minister said

The developed world would like the LDCs to free all trade in goods, capital and those aspects of services that interest them. Little attention is paid to the LDCs' interest, such as in temporary movement of labour, he mentioned

"Researchers estimate that if the OECD countries open up just three per cent of their labour force to temporary workers from the LDCs, the total benefit would be between $150 and $200 billion annually. This benefit would go to both the OECD countries as well as to the LDCs," Khosru pointed out

He hoped the Dhaka Declaration would convey the message that the LDCs have genuine concerns that need to be addressed at the Cancun conference of the WTO in September this year.

Kipkorir Aly Azad Rana, who spoke on behalf of the WTO Director General, said about 1.2 billion people are now living in extreme poverty with less than $1 a day.

He noted that many of these people are from the world's 49 LDCs. Recent UNCTAD estimates suggest that over 50 per cent of the population of the LDCs live in abject poverty. The current trends show this will increase by about a third unless urgent steps are taken to redress the situation, he added.

The LDCs have a significant and growing stake in the multilateral trading system and the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations. As a group, the LDCs constitute over 20 per cent of the WTO's membership, Kipkorir said.

In terms of results to be expected from the DDA, one of the highlights will be the improvement in market access of goods from the LDCs, he said. Additional measures like simplified standards and origin requirements are also high on the priority list for the LDCs. Reducing barriers to South-South trade may also be pursued, he added.

The Dhaka Declaration will send a powerful signal to the LDCs' negotiating partners, Kipkorir believed.