Some 30 trade ministers will meet in the Swiss ski resort of Davos next week to discuss how to revive the stalled Doha Round of global trade liberalization talks, the Swiss government announced on Tuesday.

The informal ministerial talks, the first of its kind since the Doha Round was suspended in Geneva last July, are to be held on Jan. 27 on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting, the Swiss Economics Ministry said in a statement.

Those attending the talks are expected to include U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and ministers of other key members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), such as Japan, Brazil and India, etc..

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, who suspended the Doha Round last July and has since making strenuous efforts for its revival, will also be present at the meeting.

"The aim of the meeting is, in presence of WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, to take stock on ministerial level and exchange ideas on the road ahead and how to advance the process of the Doha Round negotiations," the Swiss Economics Ministry said.

The Doha Round, launched in 2001 with an aim of lowering trade barriers to help poor countries' economic development, has been stalled due to sharp differences among key WTO members on agricultural issues and market access.

Its suspension last July followed a collapse of last-ditch talks among six key WTO members, the U.S., EU, Japan, Australia, Brazil and India.

Although technical work of the negotiations have resumed in Geneva, a full revival, which needs a breakthrough mainly on agricultural issues, is still out of sight.

Lamy has said that 2007 is a defining year for the negotiations, indicating that the Doha Round could face real collapse or at least years of delay if a final agreement cannot be clinched within the year.