World Trade Organisation (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy said today he was increasingly inclined to invite ministers to Geneva to seek a deal in the Doha round, but would wait until late next week to decide.
US president George W. Bush and other leaders have been pushing for a breakthrough this year in the global trade talks as a way to bolster the troubled world economy.
But Mr Lamy said calling a ministerial meeting too early could be risky for the delicate negotiations among the WTO's 153 member governments that would cut subsidies and tariffs on thousands of traded goods and services.
"I have not yet made a determination but the answer should be reasonably clear by the end of next week," Mr Lamy told reporters in Doha.
The WTO's Doha round is named after the Qatari capital because trade officials launched the negotiations during a summit there in November 2001.
Mr Lamy, who was attending a United Nations aid conference unrelated to the global trade talks he oversees, said recent discussions had given him encouragement that a ministerial push for a deal could succeed.
"I am more inclined to call a meeting now ... I am hesitating less now than a week ago," he told reporters.
Any move to invite ministers to Geneva would need backing from the WTO's full membership before being official.
The last WTO ministerial meeting, in July, failed because of a dispute between India and the United States about the workings of a mechanism to shield poor farmers during crises.
Reuters