The G20 group of developing nations wants to agree negotiating targets to keep the Doha round of trade talks on track when they gather on Saturday before meeting key global trade ministers.
Indian Commerce Minister Mr Kamal Nath and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mr Celso Amorim said today they hoped for progress but sticking points remained in the complicated and fiercely contested areas of services and agriculture.
The G20 developing countries, who played a key part in the failure of trade talks in Cancun, Mexico, in 2003, want to press rich states to agree what they see as fairer global trade rules.
After the G20 discussions they meet European Union and US trade leaders in a "mini-ministerial" WTO meeting that diplomats hope will help them inch towards a Doha agreement in 2006.
Mr Amorim told reporters that Brazil, G20 leader and Latin America's most populous country, aimed to give the Doha talks momentum before a crucial WTO summit in Hong Kong in December.
But while he said he was optimistic on Doha he was unflinching on the sticking point of agriculture. "The important thing is...being sure that there will be a slash in agriculture subsidies in general and an elimination of export subsidies for agriculture," he said.
Rich WTO states agreed in principle last year to elminate export subsidies, limit other subsidies for farming and lower trade barriers. But getting agreement on when the cuts are made and by how much remains a huge obstacle.