New Delhi, Sep 4 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday applauded the breakthrough reached at the mini-ministerial meeting here of some 40 members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that would lead to resumption of talks to conclude the Doha round of negotiations.
'This will uplift the animal spirit of economic agents all over the world,' an official quoted the prime minister as having told trade ministers who participated at the two-day meet.
'Cooperation in matters of trade in this increasingly interdependent world is inevitable and inescapable,' Manmohan Singh told the delegates during an interaction with them at his residence.
According to the official who was present during the interaction, the prime minister also suggested that if the Doha process was allowed to remain inconclusive, it would only encourage the voices of protectionism.
'This would hurt all economies, especially the most vulnerable, already badly hit by the financial crisis,' the official quoted him as having said.