The panel was chaired by H.E. The Hon. Jaya Cuttaree, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Mauritius; and moderated by Mr. Habib Ouane, Director of the Special Programme for Least Developed Landlocked and Island Developing Countries, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

H.E. The Hon. Jaya Cuttaree, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Mauritius, made an opening statement.

The following panellists made introductory statements: H.E. Mr. Anthony Severin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in the Office of the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and Saint Lucia Ambassador to Caribbean Community (CARICOM); H.E. Mr. Mohamed Latheef, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Maldives to the United Nations in New York; Mr. Hans-Peter Werner,
Counsellor in the Development Division of the World Trade Organization in Geneva; Mr. Sivaramen Palayathan, Trade Adviser at the Permanent Mission of Mauritius to the World Trade Organization in Geneva; and Mr. Deep Forde, Senior Trade Advisor, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The Chairman and panellists held an interactive discussion on the topic with the representatives of Egypt, Comoros, Singapore, Dominica, Cape Verde, the European Community, Cuba and Mauritius, as well as the representatives of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

The representatives of the following major groups also participated in the discussion:
Trade Unions and Business and Industry.

The panellists reacted to comments made by the participants.

The Chairman summarized the points discussed.