Brussels, 02/08/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday the Australian minister for trade, Mark Vaile, indicated that the European Commissioner for trade, Peter Mandelson, and the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Pascal Lamy have been invited to take part in the annual Cairns group meeting in September. Expanded to the main representatives of WTO partner countries, the meeting of the group of 18 agricultural exporting powers could help kick-start Doha Round negotiations, explained Mr Vaile. Negotiations were suspended at the end of July following the failure to gain agreement between the main trade blocks at the WTO (G6, EU, USA, India, Australia and Japan) meeting in Geneva (EUROPE 9238). Mr Vaile declared to Australian radio that “there is a kind of pressure on the USA and EU to not allow the process to fail at this stage”. He described the round as not dead but which was hanging on a thread. Representatives from 50 countries, including the US representative for trade, Susan Schwab, are expected at Cairns in Australia on 20-22 September for the 20th anniversary of the group, explained Mr Vaile.