Associated Press

Geneva, July 1:

Asian countries should explore cooperation agreements to ensure stable fuel supplies now that record oil prices are combining with booming industries in some countries, the World Trade Organisations said. Developing economies such as China, India and South Korea may need the agreements to ensure long-term growth, the WTO said in its World Trade Report 2005. It suggested the countries could participate more actively in exploration and the development of transportation and energy supplies in other countries. “Cooperation in Asia has considerable potential to enhance the volume and security of future supplies of fuels from within the region,” it said. “Asian developing countries recorded the strongest expansion in energy demand and the sharpest rise in imports of fuels of all regions” between 1990 and 2003, the report said. “In the short run, domestic energy supplies are unlikely to expand fast enough to cover the increased energy needs of this group of economies in the future,” it said. The report is the third annual publication conceived by WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi.