Reduction of export subsidy on farm products and special and differential treatment can increase the world trade share for least developed countries (LDCs) and developing nations, the commerce minister said.

Khosru said developing countries are interested to negotiate further on Doha Development Agenda which covers agriculture and non-agriculture trade while rich countries are pressing for Singapore Issues which dwell on investment, competition, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation.

"As rich countries are in advantageous position on global trade they should go for compromise," he said while addressing a workshop on "Strengthening the Capacity for Multilateral Trade Negotiations with Focus on Doha Round".

The Ministry of Commerce and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) organised the workshop with financial support from the European Commission.

Khosru said Doha agenda should be the benchmark of all WTO negotiations. Developed countries should provide special and differential treatment to LDC products to help increase their market share which is only 0.4 percent now, he added.

It is not possible for the LDCs to fully exploit preferential treatment like duty and quota free market access if these are not complemented by flexible and realistic rules of origin, he went on.

State Minister for Cultural Affairs Selima Rahman said LDCs must be aware of TRIPS (Trade-related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights) as it would marginalise poor farmers.

"The farmers, who get seeds from previous year's harvest, should not be left at the mercy of multinational companies who hold patent of major crop seeds," she said.

Commerce Secretary Suhel Ahmed said Bangladesh has proposed to raise the LDC market share to at least 20 percent of the clothing market of the EU and ensure 30 percent market share for primary and low-tech manufactured products of LDCs in the EU to cut poverty level in poor countries.

Head of European Commission Delegation to Bangladesh Esko Kentrschynskyj said Bangladesh is not only a vital player in WTO negotiation but is also playing a constructive role as LDC spokesman.

He said European Commission has allocated 49 million euros ($59 million) for capacity building and private sector development in Bangladesh.

Norbert Lebale, coordinator of Technical Co-operation Wing of Unctad, also spoke at the inauguration of the two-day workshop.