Key people at the meet

WTO HONG KONG MINISTERIAL

European Trade Commissioner

Mandelson, who recently described himself as "the world's most popular punchbag at the WTO", probably has the toughest job in Hong Kong.

The US and others are pushing Brussels to offer much deeper cuts in farm protection but France and some other EU states insist he has no mandate to negotiate further reductions in tariffs and subsidies.

With little wriggle-room on agriculture, Mandelson has put help for the poorest countries at the centre of his strategy for Hong Kong, saying many would see their economies devastated if powerful exporters like Brazil conquered Europe's farm markets.

Rob Portman
United States Trade Representative

A former Ohio Republican congressmen barely six months into his new job, Portman has a reputation as a consensus-builder after 12 years in the US legislature.

An optimist by nature, he has downplayed expectations for Hong Kong, but says the US remains determined to achieve deep market openings in the trade round.

Celso Amorim
Brazilian Foreign Minister

If the former movie producer were to write the script for next week's talks, the theme might be overcoming adversity, as in the films that inspired his youth, "Barren Lives" and "The Grapes of Wrath".

A group of 20-odd smaller developing nations led by Brazil wants to dismantle massive agricultural subsidy systems in Europe, the US and Japan to gain access to the developed world's markets.

The risk is that he will walk away from the talks empty handed, but soft-spoken Amorim does not fear failure in a "just" cause.

Pascal Lamy
WTO Director-General

The former EU trade commissioner took over the top job in world trade on September 1, saying completing the Doha round was "our priority number one, our priority number two and our priority number three".

The former French civil servant and Socialist Party member won the backing of poor countries with his call to "re-balance" the trade system in their favour.

As EU trade chief he twice called the WTO "medieval" after the failure of ministerial conferences in Seattle in 1999 and Cancun, Mexico, in 2003.

Kamal Nath
Indian Commerce And Industry Minister

A businessman turned politician, 59-year-old Nath was assigned to the ministry in May last year after the Congress party won national elections. Holding a degree in commerce, Nath is a shrewd negotiator and has emerged as a key figure in global trade talks.