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Ministers eye talks to prepare new WTO round

In a sign of gathering momentum for a new round of world trade talks, a group of 15-20 ministers plan to meet in Mexico next month to try to narrow differences on the agenda of the round, trade diplomats said on Friday.

Trade officials have been working for months to prepare for a conference of ministers of the142-member World Trade Organisation in Doha, Qatar, in November.

Officials have reported progress, but WTO Director-General Mike Moore said last week that governments needed to be ready by September to start intensive negotiations so ministers can be presented with a balanced agenda for their endorsement in Qatar.

"There's a high likelihood that there'll be the possibility of some informal ministerial of 15-20 ministers over the next 4-6 weeks," a leading trade diplomat said.

He said Mexico was likely to play host to the meeting.

Officials are striving to erase the stain of a failed WTO ministerial conference in Seattle in December 1999, when attempts to set the agenda for a round of market-opening measures ended in recriminations between rich and poor countries and between the United States and the European Union.

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