Not the one to give up hope, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy will visit India next week to find ways to restore the failed trade talks last month in Geneva.

Talks of Lamy's visit comes days after the mini Ministerial Meeting collapsed on the issue of safeguarding the farmers from the developing countries against import surges. The standoff in the Geneva meeting was mainly between the US on one side and India and China on the other.

"Lamy would visit next week. He is coming here for discussion with the government and industry," Commerce Secretary G K Pillai said.


The WTO chief, likely to be in India around August 12 and 13, has expressed interest to talk with the industry. "I presume his attention would be on industrial sector," Pillai said.

India had said that besides China, over 100 developing and least developed countries were backing the cause of poor farmers.


Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath too had expressed desire to resume negotiations for opening world trade on his return from Geneva, which he said should be fair to developing countries.

Sources said Lamy would seek to 'brainwash' sections of the Indian industry to accept the proposal of zero-for-zero or zero-for-close to zero opening of specific sectors, including automobiles, textiles and chemicals.

India is strongly opposed to completely throwing open these sectors arguing billions of dollars of investment have been made in these areas and breaking the tariff wall would destroy the infant industries.

Lamy would also visit national capitals of other key countries to bring them on board for maintaining the momentum to conclude the trade talks.