(adding further Amorim comments)
DAVOS, Switzerland (AFX) - Brazil's minister of foreign relations, Celso Amorim, said he is hopeful that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) can make a breakthrough around March or April in the stalled Doha round of world trade talks.
Amorim said he detected 'clear signals' from the United States and the European Union, as well as developing nations, that they are prepared to engage in 'serious negotiations' about a new trade liberalisation deal.
'I think I also detected a sense of urgency which I don't think was there before,' Amorim told a news conference held after 30 trade ministers attended a meeting on the fringes of the World Economic Forum.
The meeting was held to try to pave the way for a resumption of the talks, which were suspended last July after negotiators from six major trading nations including the US, EU and Brazil failed to reach agreement over agricultural subsidies and market access.
WTO director-general Pascal Lamy said after this morning's meeting that the EU should make a new offer on farm tariffs, while India and Brazil have to make offers to open their agricultural and industrial markets.
Amorim said he got 'a positive sense' from the meeting and left it with 'a higher feeling of optimism' that a deal could be achieved.
The minister said he had pledged 'to go into a room with Pascal Lamy and the group of negotiators, throw away the key and only come out' when they had come to an agreement.
Amorim said there remained issues to be clarified in a potential liberalisation deal, including compensation for certain types of products.
However, he said the US had made positive remarks, adding: 'It makes me hopeful that we could have a breakthrough around March or April.'
Amorim said Brazil is prepared to be flexible on potential tariff concessions on industrial goods, although he said how far would depend on how far others were prepared to go.
He said he expected there to be many more meetings at the WTO's headquarters in Geneva in the next few months.
'I expect meetings to take place and the multilateral process to develop between now and March,' he said. philip.waller@thomson.com paw/nt COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited