WTO reform prospects clouded by investment deal block, sources say
The Investment Facilitation for Development, which aims to reduce bureaucratic hurdles to encourage foreign direct investment, particularly in developing and least-developed countries, was blocked by India, South Africa and Turkey, they said, asking to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The WTO requires full consensus from all 166 members for a measure to be included in its formal rulebook. The measure has been formally backed by 127 members.
Trade sources described the latest block as a "disturbing" signal, as WTO members weigh sweeping reforms to revitalise the global trade body, which has been challenged by a wave of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
Proponents of reforms are pushing for changes to the consensus-based decision-making process in particular to stop countries from blocking measures and bogging down initiatives.
India, South Africa and Turkey were not immediately available for comment.
"The integration of the IFD into the WTO framework is a litmus test for members' willingness to turn reform discussions into practical action," a trade delegate told Reuters, describing it as disappointing.
The EU delegation told members that the IFD did not hurt anyone's interest and that blocking it would "endanger" the multilateral trade system, according to a statement seen by Reuters.
India and South Africa previously opposed the inclusion of the measure at high-level meetings, including the 2025 ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi, where it failed to gain consensus.
Keith Rockwell, a trade analyst at the Hinrich Foundation and former WTO communications director, told Reuters that India's continued obstruction of the IFD agreement is partly a tactic to gain leverage on food security negotiations.
"It signals very difficult times ahead for reform in other areas," he added.
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Reuters
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Nine years ago, an Indian student vanished into thin air. Najeeb Ahmed was studying biotechnology at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, when he mysteriously went missing in October night before his disappearance, the then 27-year-old who lived in one of the university's residential hostels was involved in a scuffle with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a right-wing student group. The students have denied any involvement in his disappearance. For years, India's crime-fighting agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has been trying to figure what may have happened to Mr Ahmed - the agency took over the case from city police in 2017. Now a court in Delhi has finally shut the investigation after the CBI said it had exhuasted all possible leads in the case. "As a parting note, the court earnestly hopes that Najeeb Ahmed shall be traced soon," the court said in the order, which was announced last month. 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She arrived in the morning and upon finding him missing, filed a missing persons complaint on 15 October 2016. For days, there was no progress. Protests erupted on campus as students and activists accused authorities of November 2016, Ms Nafees filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, accusing the police of being "slow, misdirected and subjective" and called for a court-monitored probe.A month later, Delhi Police conducted two extensive searches using sniffer dogs across JNU's sprawling campus - but again, nothing was found. In May 2017, the court handed over the investigation to the CBI. A year later, the CBI told the court it had exhausted all possible leads - and asked the bench to close the case. The agency said it had examined more than 500 witnesses, collected information from taxi, bus, train and flight operators, and searched hospitals and morgues, but had found nothing.A one million rupees [$11,600; £8,600] reward for information about Mr Ahmed also failed to yield results, investigators argued. The case dragged on for two more years, when in 2020, Ms Nafees returned to court, this time to challenge the CBI's conclusions. She alleged the agency failed to properly probe the students involved in the scuffle with her son. She said they had a "clear motive", had threatened him, and should have been arrested. The CBI denied all allegations saying they had left "no stone unturned" in looking for Mr agency said it had tracked the phone locations of the nine students involved in the fight with Mr Ahmed that night, but found no evidence linking them to his disappearance. Explaining its decision to finally shut the case, a court in Delhi said that the CBI has investigated "all plausible avenues" thoroughly but "no credible information" could be received about Mr Ahmed's judge dismissed Ms Nafees' plea, noting that while witnesses confirmed verbal threats, there was no "direct or circumstantial" evidence linking Mr Ahmed's disappearance to the fight with ABVP members."Such scuffles and exchanges are not unheard of" in the charged atmosphere of JNU, the order court, however, added that the CBI could reopen the case if new information comes to order has been a huge blow for Mr Ahmed's family and well-wishers. Colin Gonsalves, who represented Ms Nafees in the Delhi High Court in 2018, said he still questioned the investigation. "The police routinely arrest people for minor crimes in India. It's shocking then, that none of the students were taken into custody for questioning," he said. Ms Nafees alleges that her son's religion had affected the seriousness of the investigation."If the victim had been a Hindu boy, would the police have responded the same way?" she asked. "They would have demolished the houses of those suspected," she alleged, referring to the rising instances where homes of individuals accused of crimes are bulldozed by Indian authorities. The BBC has reached out to the CBI for comment. However, the agency has consistently maintained that they have carried out the probe impartially. In 2018, the Delhi High Court had said that they had found no evidence that CBI investigated the case unfairly or "under political compulsions". Ms Nafees says she's not done fighting. Every 15 October, the day her son vanished, she joins a candle march at JNU in his memory. The hope has dimmed, but the wait continues."Sometimes I wonder if I should put a nameplate outside our house," said Nafees Ahmed, his father. "Our house has been renovated. What if he comes, but can't recognise it?"Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
