MOMBASA, March 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Trade ministers and senior officials from over 30 members of the World Trade Organization will meet in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa on Thursday and Friday, as an effort to revive WTO's staggering Doha round of talks.

    The following is a brief introduction to the Doha round.

    Officially called the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), the round was launched by WTO's fourth ministerial meeting held in Doha, Qatar, in 2001.

    It aims to slash subsidies, tariffs and other barriers to worldtrade. It also purports to help poor nations use trade to make their lives better.

    The fifth ministerial, a mid-term review of DDA, was held in Cancun, Mexico, in 2003. However, it collapsed, as significant differences emerged in inclusion of agriculture, special and differential treatment to developing countries and non-agricultural market access (Nama, meaning manufactured goods). A controversy on patents was actually sorted out in August 2003, before the Cancun meeting.

    The talks were set back on track following a meeting in July, 2004, at which the EU agreed to discuss ending its farm export subsidies, enabling members to reach a framework agreement. But the agreement merely reflected a consensus that can take DDA forward.

    The round was supposed to end in December 2004, a deadline thatis now impossible. WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi now expects a resolution could be reached in 2006.

    Some delegates to attend the Mombasa meeting say if the Doha round is to succeed in 2006, WTO members will have to advance significantly towards an agreement by the time of the WTO's sixth ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December. The Mombasa meeting is the first of a number of key discussions before this meeting. Enditem