82. The representative of Singapore said that it was interesting that the list of responding Members included developing as well as developed countries. The area to which the information provided related was a difficult one and, obviously, gave rise to a variety of controversial issues. In his delegation's view, the work done by the Secretariat was extremely useful because it gave an indication as to how Members with different levels of development had tried to address these issues. Of course, this did not mean that what Members had done was the perfect solution. But the synoptic table was important because it helped to see how to move forward. As regards the conclusions made by the delegations of the United States and the European Communities, obviously there could be different viewpoints since there were different dimensions to the problems involved. There were the economic dimensions, the ethical dimensions, the dimensions about sovereignty over natural resources, the dimensions about traditions in regard to areas of medicines and natural resources, and so forth. The information contained in the tables would help Members in their attempts to see the middle point between the steps taken by countries that saw this as the area of the future and other countries which viewed this development in a different perspective. No one could deny that research and development in the area of microorganisms, genetically modified organisms and genes had moved and was still moving forward a great deal. The question was how one would deal with the difficulties that had arisen. In many parts of the world, crops were being produced at a much more productive rate as a result of research done in relation to genetically modified organisms. Illnesses were being diagnosed, treatments were being prescribed, again as a result of research. It would be difficult to take the line that one could stop this movement forward, in terms of human development. However, these developments challenged strong beliefs and had an important impact in other areas of great importance to countries, such as those defined by India.
