India's Pradeep Mehta on WTO panel

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) said on Friday it has appointed Pradeep S Mehta, secretary general of Jaipur-based Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS), on a high-level panel set up to identify 21st century trade challenges.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) said on Friday it has appointed Pradeep S Mehta, secretary general of Jaipur-based Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS), on a high-level panel set up to identify 21st century trade challenges.

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The first meeting of the panel will take place in Geneva May 16.

"The difficulties we, and many other multilateral institutions, have encountered in recent years is indisputable proof that yesterday's solutions simply cannot be applied to the problems we face today," WTO director general Pascal Lamy said in a statement from Geneva.

"This panel encompasses experts from all corners of the world and nearly every field of endeavour. Their analysis will spark debate and open new channels of thinking how we can best confront the stumbling blocks that today's rapidly evolving world has strewn in our collective path," Lamy said.

Other members of the stakeholder panel on "Defining the Future of Trade" include Helen Clark, administrator of UNDP; Festus Gontabanye Mogae, former president of Botswana and George Yeo, former foreign minister of Singapore.

Commenting on his appointment on the WTO panel, Mehta said it will be a challenging task.

"I welcome suggestions from all stakeholders in the developing world to take forward their views in this exercise," Mehta said.

The panel will meet several times this year and will present a report to the WTO in early 2013.