UK Prime Minister Tony Blair

US senator and possible presidential candidate John McCain told the closing session of the World Economic Forum that he expects the US congress to take action on climate change very soon, and the Bush administration to follow suit.

"I admit that it is very late, and it may not be enough," McCain said, "but I think that for the first time you are going to see some action on this compelling issue."

Referring to an earlier question by a reporter suggesting that a failure in American leadership is now a given, McCain said that he could understand the frustrations expressed at Davos and other world meetings, but that the US also feels frustration at the international community’s failure to act on issues such as Iran, North Korea, Burma and others. Despite current world problems, McCain said he is still optimistic. "I still believe America’s best days are ahead of us," he told participants in Davos.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair also sounded an optimistic note in his closing remarks. Blair said that the three key issues dominating the Annual Meeting in Davos – world trade, climate change and Africa – still hang in the balance, but he added that there had been progress on each that would have seemed unimaginable even a short time back. "What is really happening," Blair told the participants, "is that nations – even the most great – are realizing that they cannot pursue their narrow national interests without invoking broader global values." Blair expressed cautious optimism about the World Trade Organization negotiations after discussions in the last few days with US President Bush, Brazil’s President Lula and Germany’s Chancellor Merkel. On climate change, Blair described the new American attitude a "quantum shift."

In two radical suggestions, Blair also recommended merging the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and dramatically expanding the UN Security Council. "A UN Security Council without Germany, Japan, Brazil or India, to say nothing of any African or Muslim nation," he said, "will, in time, not merely lose legitimacy in the eyes of the world, but seriously inhibit effective action."

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Trade talks defrost in Davos

Director-General, World Trade Organization Pascal Lamy

The Doha round of trade negotiations has gained a “new momentum”, said Pascal Lamy, Director-General, World Trade Organization. “This morning’s meeting has given new energy into the talks, to the point where the landing strip is approaching,” he reported at a session on the outcome of informal trade talks.

Peter Mandelson, Commissioner, Trade European Commission, gave an explanation of why agriculture had come to dominate the trade talks. “Agriculture is important because it is the area which has been subject to the least amount of reform,” he said.

Celso Amorim, Minister of Foreign Relations for Brazil, declared that he had been given a mandate by the President of Brazil to complete the talks, no matter how long it took. “If we have to be locked in a room and have the key thrown away, then so be it,” he said.

Pascal Lamy concluded the session by stating that further bilateral meetings must take place before talks in Geneva could resume.

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