The head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said today he sensed fresh determination to conclude the Doha round of talks.
But WTO chief Pascal Lamy said that pushing the talks forward would depend on the numbers negotiators come up with in cutting subsidies and industrial tariffs.
The WTO negotiations on lowering barriers to commerce were halted in July after major powers failed to break a long-running deadlock over the politically sensitive issue of farm trade.
However, a series of bilateral sessions between major trading states and blocs - such as the United States, Brazil, the European Union and Japan - have indicated flexibility, and trade ministers recently agreed in Davos to resume talks.
"My sense is that they are actively engaged, but I haven't yet seen or heard enough numbers that would allow me to say: 'you guys come back round the table to negotiate the final details'," Lamy said. "It all depends on the substance."
The round was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001 to boost the global economy and lift millions out of poverty.
Mr Lamy, concluding a tour of east Africa, said the continent would benefit most if the talks successfully led to a reduction of farm subsidies and industrial tariffs, the removal of tariff escalation and improvement of customs procedures.