World Trade Organization (WTO) chief Supachai Panitchpakdi urged members on Thursday to take more efforts on global trade talks so that great progress could be made at December's ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.

"Things have moved, but they've not moved far enough to guarantee that Hong Kong will be the penultimate step to complete the round in 2006," Supachai said, referring to the Doha Round trade talks launched in 2001 to reduce trade barriers.

"I can't even say how much we hope to achieve by Hong Kong. The members aren't even saying that," he said at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort Davos.

He said he hopes that in next month governments will have sketched out a negotiating timetable for the rest of this year.

"Before summer we need to see some figures ... We need a balanced package of movement forward on all fronts," he added.

"We've been digging in to the technical work," said Supachai. "It's about time to turn the technical work into political solutions."

More than 20 trade ministers from the WTO's 148 members are scheduled to hold a conference on the sidelines of the forum on Saturday.

"I urge ministers to commit themselves as clearly as they can to the agenda for Hong Kong," said Supachai.

Souce: Xinhua