A deal on the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha round trade talk is an urgent necessity to help poor countries tackle the current global economic crisis, the organization's Director General Pascal Lamy said on Wednesday.

"In the present economic turmoil, what was necessary yesterday has now become indispensable. ... The international community must deliver on both trade and aid," national television TVK quoted him as telling the opening ceremony of the two-day LDC (least developed countries) Ministerial Conference in Siem Reap province.

"I think there is a growing consensus that only multilateral solutions can address the challenges facing the global economy today," he told the delegates, who came from a total of 49 counties to discuss issues related to international trade.

The Doha round World Trade Organization (WTO) talks began in 2001 but broke down in July this year.

A joint press release from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) said that Wednesday's meeting aims to help LDCs integrate their economies into the global trading system.

One of the main topics is "Aid for Trade" (AfT), a package of incentives designed to help overcome structural and resource constraints of least developed countries in exchange for more speedy trade reforms, it added.

(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2008)