Secretary for Commerce, Industry & Technology Joseph Wong urged trade ministers of World Trade Organisation member economies to exercise collective responsibility to conclude the Doha Round negotiations this year.

Mr Wong was speaking at the trade session of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development annual Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris on May 24.

During the meeting, ministers and government officials exchanged views on progress regarding the WTO's Doha round of negotiations.

Mr Wong quoted World Bank research, which suggests potential global gains from free trade could reach US$300 billion annually by 2015. The OECD has also estimated developing countries would reap about US$68 billion of a potential $97 billion gain from full trade liberalisation in non-agricultural products.

He said five months since the conclusion of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference last December, the negotiations had progressed so little that the April 30 deadline to agree on the modalities for agriculture and non-agricultural market access - or NAMA - had been missed.

Texts should be ready no later than July

He urged ministers to have texts, including one on rules and anti-dumping, ready in July at the latest to provide for intensive negotiations towards the final conclusion.

While in Paris, Mr Wong attended an informal meeting of trade ministers to exchange views on the latest state of play of the Doha Round.

He also met with trade ministers including European Commissioner for Trade Peter Mandelson, Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Store, and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy.