World Bank President Robert Zoellick has called for the quick conclusion of the Doha Round trade talks, which centers on promoting development through opening trade. Addressing members of the World Trade Organization, Zoellick said that the six-year old Doha Round talks were now at a crucial moment. “I know the competing pulls you face. Having helped with the launch in Doha in 2001, endured the sad breakdown in Cancun in 2003, and assisted in the recovery in Geneva in July 2004, I know the up and downs,” he said. “But think carefully whether the items in sharp dispute right now are worth a failure. Think about the stakes, not just the frustrating pressures of this moment,” Zoellick later said to the members, who have been unable to completely resolve their differences on such matters as the cutting of farm subsidies, tariffs, and industrial market access. (Source: World Bank chief calls for quick conclusion of global trade talks/Xinhua)
