Ireland will be part of the EU delegation at Cancun and all negotiations will be conducted on behalf of the EU by the Trade Commissioner, Mr Pascal Lamy, and the Agriculture Commissioner, Dr Franz Fischler.

The importance of the meeting for Ireland is made clear, however, by the presence in Cancun of no fewer than three ministers - the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh; the Minister of State for Development and Human Rights, Mr Kitt; and the Minister of State for Trade, Mr Ahern.

As one of the world's most open economies, which exports almost everything it produces and imports almost everything it consumes, Ireland has an interest in maintaining a strong, rule-based system for global trade.

Failure to make progress at Cancun could put in doubt the future of the multilateral trading system, with potentially serious consequences for the Irish economy.

The Government is also committed to helping the developing world and Mr Kitt will be among the European voices calling for a fairer deal for developing countries. He will be encouraged in this stance by the presence in Cancun of such groups as Comhlamh and Oxfam Ireland, which campaign on behalf of the world's poor.

The most important issue for the Government at Cancun will, however, be agriculture and Mr Walsh is unlikely to allow humanitarian concerns to deflect him from his purpose in maintaining as much protection as possible for Irish farmers. The Government is relaxed about negotiations on export subsidies and domestic support for farmers, but fears that moves to reduce crippling EU tariffs faced by farmers from developing countries could make Irish beef and dairy products uncompetitive.

Anti-poverty groups will keep a beady eye on Mr Walsh but he is likely to feel more comfortable facing the outrage of such campaigners than returning home to the wrath of the Irish farming community.