WTO talks likely to get push; trade ministers to meet tomorrow

Trade ministers of key WTO member countries, including India and the US, will meet in Davos on Saturday to review and give a push to the stalled Doha talks for a global trade opening deal.

The meeting, convened by Switzerland, will take place on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum meeting.

According to Indian officials, the meeting would discuss the progress of Doha talks and 'see what the members can achieve what G-20 has mandated'.

WTO director general Pascal Lamy would participate in the deliberations. European Union, Brazil and Australia will also attend the meeting.

At the last meeting of the G-20 in Seoul in last November, leaders of the world's most influential countries, including the US and the EU, Brazil and India, had pressed for concluding the WTO talks for a multilateral agreement in 2011.

"Our strong commitment to directing our negotiators to engage in across-the-board negotiations to promptly bring the Doha Development Round to a successful, comprehensive and balanced conclusion. . .

"We recognise that 2011 is a critical window of opportunity, albeit narrow, and that engagement among our representatives must intensify and expand," the G-20 leaders had said.

Doha round of talks under the aegis of the World Trade Organisation started in the Qatari capital in 2001 for achieving a global trade deal, but a breakthrough has not been reached upon yet.

Differences between rich and developing nations have been a stumbling block. India and other developing nations have been defending their agricultural market to protect millions subsistence farmers from easy imports that may result from the multilateral agreement.

The US and the other developed countries, however, seek more market access in developing nations, including India. As per the WTO estimate, successful conclusion of Doha talks could boost the global trade by up to $200 billion in a year.