The announcement of almost 1,000 job losses yesterday highlights the importance for Ireland of this week's WTO ministerial meeting in Cancún, according to Minister of State for Trade and Employment, Mr Ahern.

Speaking in the Mexican resort where he will address ministers from 146 countries tomorrow, Mr Ahern said that Ireland's growing prosperity in recent years had been based overwhelmingly on exports into worldwide markets.

"I believe the importance of this meeting here is to ensure that market access increases and improves over the years ahead, that you have the opportunity for our exporters, both the indigenous industries and the multinationals, that they have a greater opportunity of selling, under regulation, in more equable conditions into countries worldwide.

"That's what I believe is vital for our country. What that means is jobs and job creation, maintenance of jobs that are at home and the creation of more jobs," he said.

Mr Ahern said that, despite the high profile of agriculture at Cancún, the Government was also concerned with such issues as access to markets for non-agricultural products, the liberalisation of rules governing trade in services and the removal of "non-tariff barriers" to trade such as cumbersome certification procedures and conformity testing.

The Minister said there was no contradiction in the Government's position, which favours limiting developing countries' access to EU markets for agricultural products and the maintenance of high subsidies to European farmers but wants better access for Irish manufacturers and other businesses to non-EU markets.

"We have to get a balance because we can't afford to have our own agriculture industry effectively wiped out," said Mr Ahern.

The Government will also be represented in Cancún by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh and the Minister of State for Development and Human Rights, Mr Tom Kitt. Mr Ahern said that the Government wanted this week's talks to boost the fortunes of developing countries, both for altruistic reasons and out of self-interest.

"The development of those countries is good for us as well. From a practical point of view, if they don't get up off their knees, they won't be able to buy stuff from us in the long term," he said.