BRUSSELS, April 6: The European Union and United States plan to set early 2008 as a target for wrapping up negotiations in the Doha round of global trade talks, a media report said on Friday, quoting a draft EU-US declaration.

“Our overriding priority is to work together to bring the WTO Doha Development Agenda to a successful conclusion by early 2008 at the latest,” the draft said, quoted by Brussels-based weekly newspaper European Voice.

The draft of the declaration, which is due to be released at an EU-US summit on April 30, stated that concluding the Doha round was the top priority in transatlantic relations, the European Voice said.

The two sides would pledge to consolidate “substantial agricultural reform programmes” and “create new market access opportunities for developing nations”, the draft said.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) launched its Doha Round in 2001 to cut trade barriers around the world, to lift millions of people from poverty and boost the global economy.—Reuters