Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Saturday appreciated the Indian delegation's performance at the Tokyo ministerial meeting and said that the country had "fortified" its position on crucial issues.

"I understand that the government is on a firm footing to protect our interests, and our bargaining postures in Doha and recently in Tokyo duly reflect our concerns. I am happy that India has fortified its position on crucial issue of agriculture, TRIPS and public health," Shekhawat said in New Delhi.

Releasing the document 'WTO Road Ahead', prepared by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, he said with the position taken by India at the Doha and Tokyo meets, the country was becoming a "natural leader" for safeguarding and spearheading the interests of the developing countries.

He, however, said there was a need for urgent action to prepare the county's agriculture, industry and other sectors of the economy to face the challenges of competition in the emerging WTO regime.

Agriculture and small scale sector including village and cottage industries should be made strong, efficient and capable to face the challenges of competition, he said, adding "otherwise, small and marginal farmers, under the WTO regime, would be exposed to unfair competition from subsidised exports."

Stressing that "WTO per se was not bad at all", Shekhawat said, "we need to urgently take safeguard measures for protecting their interests in the era of globalisation and to prepare them for new challenges."