In a statement, the ASEAN leaders cited the urgency of breaking the impasse in the negotiations, saying "the impasse in the negotiations must be broken."

    The ASEAN leaders stressed that members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), particularly the major players, must demonstrate flexibility "by moving beyond their current positions in key areas of the Round" and display resolve in concluding the Doha Round in a "timely manner."

    "Breakthroughs in the critical negotiating areas of agriculture and non-agricultural market access are needed to put the process back on track," the statement said.

    "This will entail rules and disciplines on and making substantial reductions in trade distorting domestic support by the major players and real reductions in both agriculture and industrial tariffs," it said.

    The Doha Talks, named because they were launched in the capital of Qatar, began in 2001 but WTO director general Pascal Lamy halted them in July 2006 because of irreconcilable divisions among the major trading nations.

    A great deal of work aimed at building confidence among nations has since been going on in bilateral and small group discussions since July.

    In the statement, the ASEAN thanked Lamy for his message on the Round and urged him to further engage all WTO members in pushing the process forward.

    The ASEAN leaders also welcomed Vietnam's entry as the 150th member of the WTO as they expressed their support behind Laos' application to the trade organization.

    ASEAN member countries, the statement said, are prepared to make contributions to ensure an outcome of the negotiations that will allow their economies to develop and prosper.

    The Doha talks, aimed at alleviating poverty and boosting the global economy, have been stalled primarily because of disagreements among the major trading powers on the ticklish issues of tariffs and farm subsidies.

    The European Union wants the United States to cut trade-distorting subsidies to its farmers. Washington has rejected the EU proposal, and called on the EU and the big developing countries, such as Brazil to make deep cuts in tariffs on agricultural imports.

    Another dispute pits the developing and developed countries against one another. The developing countries want lower tariffs on their agricultural exports to the US and European markets.

    For their part, the major trading powers want greater access for their goods and services in developing markets.

    The ASEAN leaders have instructed their ministers, senior officials and representatives in Geneva to intensify their effort and involvement in the negotiations to ensure that their will and aspiration on the Doha Round is carried out.

    "We have no doubt that a successful Doha round will spur economic growth, and offer a tangible means to reduce poverty globally, and in the ASEAN region," the ASEAN leaders said.

    ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.