Some African states will drop their insistence that cotton be treated separately

The meeting, attended by World Trade Organisation (WTO) chief, Supachai Panitchpakdi, aimed to make proposals on key issues of agriculture and trade.

"Show realism, flexibility and a determination to make progress", Supachai told officials.

The ministers have expressed anxiety over their continued marginalisation.

Further concern was voiced by the ministers - most of whom are from African nations - over agricultural subsidies enjoyed by richer trade partners.

To help speed things up a group of African states said they will drop demands that cotton be treated separately if rich nations guarantee the issue will not hold up further negotiations.

Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad launched a campaign last year to end the subsidies such as the US pay to their domestic cotton farmers which they say makes their cotton uncompetitive.

Trade row

The rich countries say WTO rules allow subsidies, but poor nations argue they distort trade and make it impossible to compete fairly.

They are also worried that a broad lowering of trade barriers, as part of the Doha round of trade talks, would eat into preferential access that they currently enjoy to developed countries' markets.

The WTO agreed to launch a new so-called Doha trade round in September 2003 after talks in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar.

Positive signs

Even if progress in Dakar appeared slow, European leaders were in a positive mood.

"My presence here is a sign of friendship and commitment to dialogue with you and to move forward", said Pascal Lamy, European Union Trade Commissioner.

On the matter of agricultural subsidies, Mr Lamy said he had made "a substantial proposition" to eliminate trade subsidies for a list of products of interest to developing nations.

Mr Lamy attended following his meeting in London at the weekend with host US trade representative Robert Zoellick, Kenyan Trade Minister Mukhisa Kituyi, his South African counterpart Alec Erwin and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.

The London meeting was designed to define a package of proposals that would incite the G90 group of 90 developing nations to make the Doha round of global trade talks a success and conclude it by January 2005.

"The contents of an agreement are getting clear", said reports following the London meeting.

World Trade Organisation negotiations ran into problems in September last year when the WTO ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, ended in dispute on farm subsidies between its rich and poor members.