Developing countries must speak with one voice if they are to succeed in negotiating for developed countries to reduce extensive agricultural subsidies, said South African President Thabo Mbeki today.

He said negotiations on the matter are likely to be difficult during the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meet in Cancun, Mexico next week when the issue of farm subsidies is expected to dominate discussions.

"There are major difficulties on the matter of agricultural subsidies. Indeed, the fear is that Cancun would fail on this issue...

"What we have to do is to ensure that we, as developing countries, speak with one voice. We don't necessarily have this today," he said when responding to a question at a forum in Kuala Lumpur.

The forum on African unity was organised by the Institute of Strategy and International Relations.

Deadlines missed

Mbeki said some African countries have argued in favour of retaining the European Union and United States' farm subsidies because of their positions as net food importers.

"Because they import food, they get it cheap. If not for the subsidies, it would be expensive. But they have to see that if they import food, they will kill their own agricultural industries.

"Developed countries recognise the poverty in the developing world and the impact of the agricultural policies. They know it but the will to move on it is probably what is missingSo far, all the deadlines (on WTO negotiations) have been missed because people are not honouring what they have agreed to," he said.

However, the president expressed hope that changes could be effected if developing countries work together and coopt voices in support of these causes in the West.

"There is a voice in the developed world on this that the way globalisation (works as it does today) creates imbalances and disparities.

"We may not like the way (the anti-globalisation demonstrators) do things but the message is important. There must be change," he said.

Mbeki had also raised similar concerns with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad - a strong critic of the globalisation and Western trade practices - yesterday. The South African president had asked Mahathir to make a strong representation on behalf of the developing nations at the WTO ministerial meeting.

Mahathir will be speaking at the meeting in his capacity as the chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Terror link

Mbeki also rejected a suggestion from the floor that developing countries link terrorism to an inequitable world order which creates poverty and dissatisfaction (as exemplified by the dispute over agricultural policies) in order to convince developed countries of the need for change.

"It is incorrect to convey in any way the notion that the poor attend to terrorism. It is a difficult argument and I wouldn't accept it myselfThreats may not work best (in bringing about changes to the world order)," he said.

Earlier, the president listed several developments in Africa to deal with regional challenges such as widespread poverty, health problems, trade issues and political instability in various parts of the continent.

During his speech titled - 'Implementation of the new partnership for Africa's development (Nepad) under the African Union' - he said several priority areas identified for cooperation are in agricultural policies, infrastructure development, human resources development and improvements in health care facilities.

"Africa is a net importer of food. Clearly this is wrong because we have the land, water and the people. So we need to address food security matters," he said.

African countries are also engaged with fighting problems related to diseases and high mortality rates.

"We have had to fight with the pharmaceutical companies over the issue of intellectual property rights. Most people are too poor to buy the drugsThe companies have agreed to waive property rights to enable drugs to be produced at affordable prices but we still need to build the capacity to manufacture the drugs," he added.

Political instability

To deal with political instability in the continent, Mbeki said the African Union has agreed to set up a Peace and Security Council by the end of the year.

To this end, he said African countries recognise the need to limit sovereignty of states in order to deal with problems such as genocide and crimes against humanity.

Responding to a question on the role of small arms infiltration in Africa and South Africa's arms industry in contributing to the recurring political violence, he said a committee of heads of states has already been convened to look into the matter.

"There is a worrying phenomenon in West Africa and it is the emergence of large numbers of mercenaries coming from conflict areas. For instance, there were Liberians fighting in Cote d'Ivoire.

"There are a lot of young people who know nothing else but guns. There is a programme (to work on this) but it has to go way beyond that," he explained.

Mbeki is in Kuala Lumpur for a three-day visit, which ends today. The South African president last visited Malaysia in 1998.