Doha Round could be over by year-end: Govt

India today said negotiations for the Doha Round of world trade talks were at an advanced stage and could be concluded by the end of this year, provided sensitivities of the developing nations were taken in to account.

"The last bit of flexibilities are being discussed as there has been good progress in the talks during the past two months. The US administration is also interested in having the round closed and it has taken on board India's concerns. During my discussions with US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, I said India is willing to negotiate commerce but not sustenance," Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said at the Fortune Global Forum, a gathering of top-notch Fortune 500 CEOs.

Nath added India understands concerns expressed by the United States on reducing its agricultural subsidies.

"But on the other hand, a large number of developing and vulnerable economies, specially in Africa, also have concerns which need to be respected."

His statement found an echo in Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who expressed concern over the growing tendency among advanced economies to erect non-tariff barriers.

"Even as we find trade barriers being reduced (by rich countries), we also find that new non-tariff barriers are being erected," he said at the same function.

Paulson, while speaking at the same venue, said that the Doha round was one of the most important issues, on which both the US and India could work on.

Urging India to concede more market access to industrial goods in the Doha Round, Paulson said: "Countries which provide market access to industrial goods will benefit in the Doha Round. It has been seen that in India, the de-regulated sectors like airlines and telecom are doing very well."

Later, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at a separate function, urged India to contribute towards concluding the Doha Round at the earliest.

"If we wait to conclude the Doha negotiations till US presidential negotiations are completed next year, we will fail," she said.