Polls have consistently shown Hong Kong people do support the WTO and believe free trade will bring enhanced employment and economic opportunities for Hong Kong, Financial Secretary Henry Tang says.

Talking to the media after the last meeting of the Economic & Employment Council today, Mr Tang said the conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda will lift millions of people out of poverty, increase wealth worldwide by billions of dollars, enhance market access and facilitate trade, especially for the least developed countries.

"So it is our responsibility to provide the best environment for these kinds of discussions and everyone must be able to come to the table and be prepared to make concessions to facilitate the conclusion of the agenda," Mr Tang said.

"We will always expect a certain amount of scuffles and there will be multiple protests, but we respect people's right to be heard and we want this to be as transparent and as inclusive as possible."

Mr Tang believed if the ministerial conference can be conducted smoothly, it will greatly enhance Hong Kong's reputation as an international metropolitan city.

He asked for the community's understanding, since a certain degree of inconvenience has to be expected when hosting an international conference of such a scale.

Council to be reconstructed, reconstituted

Turning to the Economic & Employment Council, Mr Tang said members have contributed a great deal to enhancing economic development and job creation in the last two years, but it is more practical to reconstruct and reconstitute the council.

He said the council's achievements have mainly been in licensing or in business facilitation, adding the taskforce that focuses on business facilitation will go on and there will continue to be a Business Facilitation Advisory Committee.

As far as the longer-term economic development issues are concerned, Mr Tang said it is more appropriate for the Commission on Strategic Development to discuss some of these longer-term issues, such as job creation, high-value-added logistics, creative industries or the flow of talent.

"These are the kind of issues that will create employment and enhance our competitiveness, but I believe it will be equally appropriate, if not more appropriate, that they be discussed at the Commission for Strategic Development level so that we can get more people to participate," he said.

On the commission's membership, Mr Tang said when it comes to discuss specific issues, people with specific knowledge will be invited to join the discussion.