Bush, Kofi Annan hope for success of WTO talks

Washington, July 4 : President George W Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan agreed on Monday that the success of ongoing World Trade Organization talks on a new global trade accord is a priority, a spokesman said.

The president and secretary-general spoke at Annan's initiative ''about WTO negotiations, as well as a range of other issues,'' National Security Council spokesman Fred Jones said in a conference call.

''Both leaders agreed that the WTO talks were at a critical stage and that the success of the negotiations is a priority,''Jones said.

Negotiators meeting in Geneva last week made no progress in the nearly five-year-old Doha round of trade talks, with the United States, European Union and developing countries split over reducing agricultural subsidies and opening up markets.

Reuters

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