Brazilian leader optimistic about Doha Round talks after Davos summit

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that he was more optimistic about the resumption of the Doha Round talks after last week's Davos summit.

"Everybody knows that, if an agreement on trade is not reached now, the WTO (World Trade Organization) will lose credibility. I mean, people will start asking why it exists," Lula told the state radio after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

He said the Doha Round must be looking at a breakthrough by April and that he will make phone calls to leaders of other countries involved in negotiations within the next few days.

Trade ministers from 24 WTO members announced on Saturday that they were committed to bringing the Doha Round talks back on track.

The announcement came after U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and other ministers met for about three hours in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

The Doha Round, launched in 2001 with an aim of lowering trade barriers to help poor countries' economic development, has been stalled due to sharp differences among key WTO members on agricultural issues and market access.

Its suspension last July followed a collapse of last-ditch talks among six key WTO members, the United States, the EU, Japan, Australia, Brazil and India.

WTO chief Pascal Lamy has said that 2007 will be a defining year for the negotiations, indicating that the Doha Round could face real collapse or at least years of delay if a final agreement cannot be clinched within the year.