Commonwealth officials said Thursday that a summit here of the organisation's 53 member states, which together represent one-fifth of global trade, will deliver a fresh impetus to next month's WTO trade talks in Hong Kong.
Foreign ministers meeting in preparatory sessions since Wednesday have put trade and closer co-operation on terrorism at the top of the agenda for the three-day summit in Malta which Queen Elizabeth II will open Friday.
Developing countries attending the biennial summit are expected to lobby British Prime Minister Tony Blair to press the European Union for further cuts in farm subsidies in World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong in three weeks' time.
Britain currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU and the G8.
Agriculture has proved the main stumbling block to wrapping up a round of trade talks which began in the Qatar capital Doha in 2001.
The EU and other rich countries have agreed to cut agriculture subsidies and boost aid, but developing countries - the majority of the club of mainly former British colonies - say much more needs to be done.
Despite widespread pessimism about the possibility of a breakthrough at the December talks on a global trade deal, Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon retains some hope of breaking the deadlock.
He said the summit would "send a very, very strong message" to negotiators in WTO headquarters in Geneva, but also to the United States, the EU and Japan, to drop tariff barriers around agricultural commodities and allow poor nations access to their markets.
"We know that despite things like debt write off, despite increases in aid, greater economic opportunity is really what will bring more people out of poverty," McKinnon told a news conference.
The buck stopped with "those sitting in Brussels. They have a huge responsibility," he said. "If there are not prepared to make some significant changes to the Common Agricultural Policy in Europe, they are determining that many many people will stay in poverty."
He criticised EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who said two weeks ago there was no hope of a deal being struck in Hong Kong, because developing countries like Brazil had failed to make a significant offer on lowering their tariffs on industrial goods.
"But I remind Mr Mandelson that a lot was put on the table in (the previous) Uruguay round and nothing was given, so hence there is a degree of nervousness over what has been proposed."
Foreign ministers were due to release a statement later Thursday on their two days of talks.
Malta's minister Michael Frendo will report to the heads of government on the ministers' discussions at a plenary opening session on Friday morning.
In the afternoon, the leaders will go into "retreat mode" for two days of informal discussions, said McKinnon.
"There's no restriction on anyone raising anything," during the retreat, which will bring G8 members Britain and Canada together with the leaders of some of the world's poorest nations at a hotel in the north of the island.
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