News stories by Ravi Kanth Deverakonda

Industrialised countries have mounted an unprecedented campaign to stop the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development from providing policy advice to the poorest countries in Africa and across the globe.

When the G20 leaders meet for their fifth summit in Cannes, France, on Thursday, they will be confronted with several worsening global economic and trade issues. Among them is how to strengthen the international trading system and how to overcome the developmental deficit that continues to create an uneven playing field for poor countries.

South Africa has expressed sharp concern over concerted attempts by leading industrialised countries, particularly the U.S. and the European Union (EU), to extract onerous commitments from developing countries as a condition to concluding the stalled Doha Round trade negotiations.

An Indian textile engineer and entrepreneur called Raj Rajendran visited Rwanda in 1999. He was tasked to close down an unviable textile factory following the civil war. But he discovered propitious agro-climatic conditions, particularly volcanic soil -- ideal for the rearing of silk worms to produce raw silk.