DOHA, Oct 21: World Trade Organization director general Mike Moore led talks on Sunday in Doha to prepare for a key WTO conference due to be held here November 9-13, sources close to the organisers said.

Moore was to meet Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and on Monday to see Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassam al-Thani, the sources said.

The discussions would cover preparations for the WTO ministerial conference, they said amid a news blackout by the Doha government.

Moore turned up Saturday a day after a three-member WTO delegation arrived in Qatar amid reports that the venue will be switched.

“The objective of the visit is to supervise preparations for the WTO ministerial conference in Doha,” WTO Director of Administrative Services Jacques Emile Chabert told AFP on Saturday.

Asked about the possibility of a change of venue for security reasons due to the world turmoil since the September 11 terror attacks in the United States, Chabert said: “I have instructions to continue the preparations.”

In Shanghai, Asia-Pacific leaders on Sunday urged the launch of a new round of WTO negotiations, but made no mention of the venue.

WTO director-general designate Supachai Panitchpakdi on Saturday said the body should confirm Qatar as host of its ministerial meeting next month.

“We have to make sure we go ahead and hold the meeting in Qatar. We should not have second thoughts,” Supachai said on the sidelines of annual talks of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Qatar’s envoy to the United Nations, Nasser bin Abdul Aziz Al-Nasr, insisted Friday the conference should be held in Doha, as “Qatar is among the safest countries in the world.”—AFP