BRUSSELS, May 18: The EU, US, Brazil and India -- major players in the efforts to agree on the Doha round of WTO trade talks, -- said on Friday they stood by their commitment to reach a deal by the end of the year.

“We remain committed and hopeful that our efforts, coupled with the work being done at the multilateral level in Geneva, will lead to a successful conclusion of this round by the end of this year,” they said.

The remarks came in a joint statement from representatives of the G4 following two days of intense talks in Brussels.

“Our meetings were productive and included discussions in all the core negotiating areas with a particular focus on agriculture, Nama (non-agricultural market access) and services,” the statement said.

It was made by European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and Indian Trade Minister Kamal Nath, who met behind closed doors here.

At the top of the agenda remain questions on trade in agricultural products that have blocked progress in the WTO's Doha Development Round, launched with great fanfare in the Qatari capital in 2001.—Agencies