WB Chief Calls for 'Thinking Big' on Doha Round

World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick urged the world's trading nations to "think big" to facilitate the Doha Round of trade talks and provide a significant boost to current troubled global economy, the bank said in a Sunday statement.

In a speech to be delivered in Geneva, Switzerland to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on July 18, Zoellick noted that the fate of the Doha Round that he helped launch in 2001 was "deeply disappointing" and the consequence could be a missed opportunity for a global growth strategy when the world badly needed one.

"I won't sugarcoat it. Negotiators from key countries -- developed and developing -- let themselves fold into defensive crouches. Tactical ploys overwhelmed strategic vision and leadership," Zoellick said in the prepared remarks.

The World Bank head urged WTO members to take bolder action by "thinking ahead and thinking big", adding that the global trade deal now being considered was much smaller than that originally envisaged and it was a loss to both developed and developing countries.

"A mini-deal won't do much for global growth, which is my primary concern," Zoellick added.