What is the intention of this conference?

This conference--WTO Meeting in Cancan--is intended to kick-start the negotiations on freer and fairer trade, with a particular emphasis on improving the lives of those in the poorest nations. Deadlines have slipped and it’s long been uncertain how much progress could be made here. Now, twenty-one developing nations have come together to say, in effect, that they believe the meeting will be doomed unless there’s a radical shift by the rich nations. They call for an end to subsidies on agricultural exports, substantial cuts in other financial support for agriculture that distorts trade and substantially greater access to the markets of developed countries.