Top level political involvement could help inject more dynamism and efficiency into the World Trade Organisation (WTO), according to a report today.
The Future of the WTO, drawn up a group of business leaders and economists, called for regular summits, more frequent meetings of ministers and a clearer role for the WTO's chief in free trade negotiations.
"Remarkably, in an institution which political leaders everywhere claim as their principal vehicle of trade policy development, regular direct, formal, political involvement in the WTO is minimal," the report said.
"There is a certainly room for more efficiency, deeper political and economic awareness and higher level participation in much of the WTO's work," it said.
The 83-page document mixes political and technical recommendations, including on the settlement of disputes, while making a fervent defence of free trade, which it said offered most poorer countries the best route to development.
It also condemned regional and bilateral trade deals, which have flourished as WTO talks have struggled, saying they often were dictated by political agendas and did little to advance the cause of free trade.
"It (the trend) is often undermining the multilateral system, which is very dangerous," Mr Peter Sutherland, the chairman of British oil concern BP and former WTO head who chaired the group of authors, told a news conference.
Drawn up at the request of WTO chief Mr Supachai Panitchpakdi, who stands down in August, the report carries no legal weight within the 148-member body and is intended to stimulate debate.