India and the US are scheduled to meet in Indonesia over world trade talks on Monday. The meeting would cover important points behind last year’s failure of trade talks.

Trade experts almost came close to signing a deal on Doha round of talks in July 2008. The talks centred on the development of poor countries through trade.

But the talks failed after some differences between Washington and developing economies lead by India over a proposed idea to help farmers in poor countries cope with the surges in imports.

The political scene for global trade talks has improved and Carol Guthrie, spokeswoman for US trade representative Ron Kirk, said Kirk would meet India’s trade minister Anand Sharma during the Cairns Group talks in Bali. 

The Doha deal is estimated to be of $150 billion and is very important during these times of economic slowdown. Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia’s Finance Minister, said that the Indo-US talks would show the way to solve global trade issues. The US has been reviewing its trade policies and looking forward to some positives in Doha deal.

Pascal Lamy, Director-General of World Trade Organisation, will brief the meeting on the latest progress on the world trade talks. He said that ample time had passed for another round of trade talks. The Cairns Group comprises 19 countries, which account for 25% of the world’s agricultural exports. Officials from India, US, and European Union will also attend the meeting.