India hosted the Ministerial Meeting of the G-20 alliance in New Delhi on 18-19 March, 2005. This Meeting was preceded by a meeting of Senior Officials of the G-20 on 17 th March, 2005 . These meetings were also attended, as Observers, by the country-coordinators of key developing country alliances, namely, the G-33 alliance on Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism, Asia-Pacific Caribbean (ACP) countries,Caribbean Country (CARICOM) and the Least Developed countries (LDCs). The objectives of the G-20 meeting were to assess the status of the ongoing I negotiations on the Agreement on Agriculture of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and to develop the common position and approach of the G-20 alliance on the various issues of interest and concern. The meeting also intended to consolidate the G-20 alliance and to establish an important outreach to other developing groupings such as LDCs, Africa Group, Caribbean Group, etc. in order to advance developmental objectives in the negotiations. India emphasised that export subsidies must be removed and all forms of distortions in agricultural products caused by high levels of support and protection provided to their agriculture by developed countries must be substantially reduced, while ensuring that developing countries are able to address their rural development, livelihood and food security concerns through appropriate instruments and measures. The outcome of the meeting was the adoption of the G-20 Ministerial Declaration (the text of which is reproduced below). The outcome is consistent with the position of India in the nepotiations.