Ahead of the G-8 meeting in Tokyo next month, WTO negotiations have picked up pace in Geneva with a strong expectation of receiving support for a Doha deal from leaders of industrialised nations such as US, EU and key developing countries like India and South Africa.
"There are indications that dates for the Ministerial Meeting will be announced after the G-8 meeting where the leaders are expected to give a clearcut political direction to their trade ministers and negotiators for clinching a trade deal," an official told PTI.
Though India is not a member of G-8, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be attending the meeting along with heads of other four 'outreach' countries that include Brazil.
The official said the ministerial meeting, comprising trade ministers of all the 152 member countries, is likely to be held in Geneva in the third week of July.
The ministerial meeting -- the highest policy platform of the World Trade Organisation -- will work round-the-clock for five days to draw a blueprint for a multilateral agreement aimed at liberalising the 28.1 trillion dollar global trade.
The Doha round has dragged on for seven years, missing several deadlines. But now the US, with the help of WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, is exerting pressure on key players like India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, European Union, Australia, Canada and Japan to seal the deal before President Bush's term expires on January 19, 2009.