Brussels, 13/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - As we go to press, European Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton was taking part in the world services summit in Washington on Tuesday 13 October, alongside WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and several trade ministers, including Australian Simon Crean, Colombian Luis G. Plata, Panamanian Roberto Henriquez and Indian Anand Sharma. The summit was organised under the auspices of the US Services Coalition and its partners in the Global Services Coalition, including the European Services Forum. “Nobody wants Doha to fail. But we are indeed looking for other ways forward,” said conference chairman and US Services Coalition President Bob Vastine, who expects fresh ideas from the major players in the Doha negotiations to stimulate the global trade in global services, both thanks to the Round and also outside its parameters. While the 153 WTO countries may not be far from agreement on the modalities of trade liberalisation in agriculture and industrial goods (NAMA), given the progress made in these two chapters at the WTO ministerial meeting in July 2008 (see EUROPE 9714), discussions on services (for an idea of the Doha Round chapter on services, see EUROPE 9525) remain behind schedule, despite encouraging promises from those taking part in the conference on services which took place, as part of the aforementioned ministerial meeting, in Geneva on 26 July 2008 (see EUROPE 9712). (E.H./transl.rt)