204. The Chairman said that he had not perceived much change in delegations' positions since the last meeting. He noted that, based on its informal paper, the European Communities had been consulting with the African Group and the United States. The issue continued to be of great interest to all Members which remained committed to finding an expeditious solution and were prepared to work constructively to this end. A permanent settlement of the issue had to be found, preferably before the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. He noted that there was still a wide gap as regards the perception and understanding of the issue.
