Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Erastus Mwencha has said the suspension of the Doha Round of global trade talks is a "big disappointment."

The COMESA chief hoped the development will not create a dent on World Trade Organization (WTO) and subsequently discredit multilateralism, local newspaper The Post reported on Thursday.

He said that if countries shunned multilateralism opting for bilateral relations, it will be difficult for poor countries to negotiate.

Mwencha feared that some of the good intentions of the Doha Round will be "thrown out of the window," following the suspension of the talks.

"I hope good intentions such as 'aid for trade' will be spared, " he said. "let's not completely do away with good intentions."

Mwencha said developing countries should now emphasize on how they could strengthen their regional integration for them to have a fallback position.

After nearly five years of wrangling failed to produce a deal, WTO chief Pascal Lamy on Monday formally recommended the suspension of the Doha Round of global free trade talks.

The talks, which were launched in 2001 and had been aimed at easing poverty and boosting the global economy, could take months or years to resume.

Source: Xinhua