Thailand has reaffirmed its stance at the WTO Ministerial Meeting to support the conclusion of talks under the Doha Development Round.

"A major tool to help strengthen the WTO [World Trade Organisation] is an early conclusion of the Doha Round," said Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai. "The final package is within our reach, so members should not waste any time in settling their differences."

She also made a statement reflecting ASEAN's position on the Doha negotiations. The 10-nation bloc intends to push for a breakthrough in the trade liberalisation talks.

Trade ministers from more than 150 countries have gathered in Geneva in a bid to finally conclude the Doha Round within next year.

It is expected that the conclusion of the Doha Round would promote economic growth as it would help reduce farming subsidies in developed nations.

Ms Porntiva said the global economy is slowly recovering from crisis and any failure of the talks would likely extend the recession, prolonging unemployment and increased trade protectionism.

"The longer the Doha Round is delayed, the more slowly we will move toward sustainable development, economic growth and recovery," she said.

The need is all the more important in light of the current economic crisis, where protectionism threatens to undo efforts to become more outward looking, she said.

Ms Porntiva also urged all developing countries to actively engage in the WTO and make full use of its functions and opportunities.

"The WTO aims to provide a level playing field for all members, which is particularly important for small nations like Thailand," she said.

Meanwhile, Thailand fully agreed that the WTO needs to be improved to keep pace with the changing economy and to continue to be a reliable institution for international trade.

According to the Institute of International Education in Washington DC, if the Doha Round is successful, it will lift annual global exports by US$180 billion to $520 billion, increasing global gross domestic product by $300 billion to $700 billion. It should also reduce the gap between developing and developed nations.

Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general of the Trade Negotiation Department, said the ministerial meeting was unlikely to reach a conclusion right away but Thailand - as a developing nation dependent on farm products, especially rice - needed to voice its stance at the conference.

Thailand would like to see rice categorised as a special product, with a possibility of prolonging or minimising tariff reductions.

Ms Porntiva held bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting with her counterparts from India, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and South Africa.

Thailand has successfully lobbied India to support further liberalisation in jewellery products, which have gained support from 70% of trading countries. Major players including the US, Japan, Italy and Singapore have already expressed the position to support the sector's liberalisation.

In discussions with Nigeria, both parties talked about government-to-government rice sales and measures to boost bilateral trade and investment.

Nigeria proposed that Thai investors cultivate rice in Nigeria as Thailand has high technology in this field. The ministry will forward the issue to related agencies.