Fears of violence and anger at West haunt WTO talks

Almost 1,500 politicians and officials from across the globe defied fears of terrorism yesterday to gather in the Middle East for talks aimed at striking a trade deal that would boost the world's flagging economy.

Amid almost paranoid security, the World Trade Organisation opened its talks in the glittering Sheraton Hotel in Doha, the capital of the oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar. The event was in doubt until the last minute. Many expected the United States to pull out because of threats from Osama bin Laden to kill any non- Muslims on Arabian soil.

But in his opening speech, Mike Moore, the WTO's director general, warned nations not to abandon globalisation. "Trade is a great unifying force and a force for peace, development and security," he said.

Assembling ministers from 145 countries under one roof in the Middle East has created a nightmare for the Qatari authorities and a palpable feeling of paranoia among the 2,641 delegates. The US sent a helicopter gunship and two ships with 2,100 marines to Doha – more than its official delegation. All briefings by American trade officials were delayed as every member of the media was searched by security guards.

Qatar, a tiny state of 600,000 people, put on a show of strength. An official said: "We have taken all measures necessary. Every Qatari citizen regards himself as defending the WTO."

All public buildings – including the conference centre and all hotels – have metal detectors. Almost everyone in Doha must wear a WTO badge and the only vehicles are shuttle buses, taxis and military vehicles. Forty police officers guarded the Sheraton.

All roads to the centre are blocked and manned by armed police, so a simple five-minute journey can take more than an hour because even delegates' shuttle buses are turned away by twitchy patrols. This nervousness is hardly surprising when one considers Wednesday's attack on an American airstrip in Doha by a Qatari with an AK-47 rifle.

But behind all the paranoia and security checks, there is a real purpose to this summit and real policy disagreements between north and south, rich and poor, developed and developing countries. Some are arcane trade issues but others are inextricably linked to 11 September and the war on terrorism.

As one senior European Union delegate put it: "If there is a positive to be drawn from 11 September, it is that we need more co-operation and not less, more understanding not less, and we need more exchange not less. The last thing we need is protectionism."

There is growing diplomatic pressure to ensure that whatever declaration comes out of Doha will not be seen as just another deal to allow big multinationals to make profits at the expense of the Third World.

No leading industrialised country is Muslim. An agreement that fails to acknowledge concerns of Muslim countries would probably stoke anti-Western anger. This has given previously marginal countries, such as Pakistan, a much larger say in issues affecting the developing world.

Top of the list is agriculture, which is the largest export industry for many poor countries competing against America, Europe and Japan with their huge state subsidies. America is prepared to give ground on agriculture, much to the anger of the EU. Another moot point is textiles – a staple of the Pakistani economy – which attract high tariffs when sold to the West because of a perceived threat to jobs.

The irony is that the Third World may get a better deal than at the last trade round eight years ago because of the increased importance of keeping the developing world onside.

This means anti-globalisation protesters, who in 1999 disrupted trade talks in Seattle, have almost disappeared. Only a few penetrated Doha's security cordon and yesterday there was just one small protest in the 35C (95F) heat.