Mr Kamal Nath and European Mr Peter Mandelson announced the postponement after a meeting in London on Friday.

“At the moment, just in agriculture, they have 130 disagreements. You can’t sit in a ministerial with 130 (disagreements). These must be brought down to 15 or so for ministers to sit down and take a decision,” Mr Kamal Nath said, adding “convergence” is eluding.

He said, “Unless they respect our sensitivities relating to development and security, we are not heading toward a convergence.”

Besides agriculture subsidy, on which there is less convergence, there are 130 other issues on which there are disagreements between the developed and developing countries and these must be brought down to 50, he added. At a meeting on the sidelines of World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in January both Mr Kamal Nath and Mr Mandelson had backed a ministerial summit around Easter, which falls on March 23 this year.

Political push
The meeting was aimed at giving a much-needed political push to stalled Doha Development Round, which is aimed at setting down rules of international trade and takes its name from the city where it was launched in 2001.

Mr Kamal Nath remained optimistic on Friday, saying: “I hope the WTO ministerial meeting is held in April, when the number of points of disagreement are lessened.”

Mr Mandelson said he hoped “in the coming month or so it will be possible to make the progress required in Geneva for a ministerial meeting to take place. We’re not there yet, but it is doable.” “A successful outcome is not going to drop into our laps. We have to do it for ourselves,” he said at a joint news conference. The postponement comes after weeks of uncertainty, with many Geneva-based diplomats privately warning that a March 23-deadline was going to be difficult to meet.

Steady progress
Meanwhile, India and the European Union have made slow but steady progress in their talks for a comprehensive trade and investment pact and are likely to seal the deal by the end of the year, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said here on Saturday.

Briefing reporters along with EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson at the India House, Mr Kamal Nath said, “We have made a substantial progress in our discussions. We are moving toward the agreement slowly, but it will be a large agreement and is expected to be signed by the end of this year.”