London, January 9:

Trade minister from 25 countries will seek to use the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos later this month to give a new year kick-start to global liberalisation talks following last month’s inconclusive meeting in Hong Kong.

With little more than three months until the deadline for a deal on cutting protective barriers in agriculture and manufactured products, the exclusive conclave of politicians, business leaders and academics in the Swiss Alps has been earmarked as the forum for a fresh push to the troubled talks.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) said a meeting would take place in Davos, with the discussions likely to focus on access to the rich agricultural markets of the west — seen as the key to the entire round of negotiations launched in Doha more than four years ago.

Sources said countries representing one-sixth of the WTO’s 150 members would attend the talks, including all the main players — the EU, the US, Brazil, India and Japan. They added that it was unclear at this stage whether the trade ministers would be joined by those heads of government attending the WEF but that the get-together had taken on added importance in the light of the commitment to have a blueprint for agriculture and industrial products by April 30.

Tony Blair and president Lula da Silva of Brazil have been pressing for a rapid follow-up since the lack of any real progress in the six days of talks in Hong Kong.