January 21, 2007	Sunday	Muharram 01, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: More than 30 trade ministers will meet in Davos, Switzerland, later this month to discuss how to revive the stalled Doha round of talks under the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

An official in the WTO Wing of the Commerce Ministry said on Saturday that Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan will lead the Pakistani team in the proposed mini-ministerial meeting to be held at the sideline of World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.

The mini-ministerial meeting, to be held on Jan 27, would be the first of its kind since the Doha round of meeting suspended in July last in Geneva.

The official said the aim of the meeting was to exchange ideas on the road ahead to advance the negotiations ahead. While technical work of the negotiations has resumed in Geneva, a full revival of the Doha Round was out of sight due to a deadlock on agricultural issues.

The WTO chief, Pascal Lamy, has said that 2007 was a defining year for the negotiations, indicating that the round could collapse or face years of delay if an agreement cannot be clinched within the year.

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and trade ministers of key WTO members, such as Japan, Brazil and India, as well as WTO director-general Pascal Lamy are expected to attend the meeting.