Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Pascal Lamy on Monday in Hong Kong urged members to make new efforts at the upcoming Six Ministerial Conference so as to push forward the Doha Round trade talks.

"In the coming days, WTO members will have to take important decisions ... Hong Kong is one of many steps along the road of a complex and lengthy negotiations," he told the Session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, which opened here on Monday.

The WTO chief thanked Pier Ferdinando Casini, president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, for his call to "remind negotiators of the imperative of reaching a successful outcome" of the Dec. 13-18 Hong Kong meeting.

The Doha Round, which aims to lift barriers to trade across the world and reduce poverty in developing countries, had bogged down in a deadlock over agricultural subsidies and tariffs following the collapse of the fifth ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, 2003.

The Hong Kong meeting, which is set to open Tuesday, is expected to attract 6,000 delegates from WTO's 149 members, 2,000 representatives from non-governmental organizations and some 3,000 journalists.

Source: Xinhua