Wolfowitz said the upcoming gathering of the G8 members and the planned outreach session with leaders from China, Brazil, India, South Africa, Mexico, the African Union and international organizations "offers a unique opportunity we must take advantage of if we are to make urgently needed progress in the Doha trade talks."

"We can work to lift millions from poverty, boost developing country income, improve global market access and reduce taxpayer and consumer costs for all -- or allow the whole effort to collapse, with harm to everyone," the World Bank president pointed out.

Deadlines for reaching a new agreement have repeatedly been missed since the Doha round was launched in 2001 with the primary aim of harnessing the benefits of freer trade for developing nations, including the original end date of December 2004.

Trading nations face the additional pressure of the end of domestic "fast track" trade authority in the United States in summer 2007, which will stifle the US president's ability to override a reluctant Congress and make a wide-ranging global trade deal even harder to come by.

Wolfowitz said a pro-development result in St. Petersburg will yield gains for rich and poor alike.

"It would be an important step on the path to full liberalization which could eventually generate 300 billion dollars a year in additional production for the worlds economy," he stated. "Developing countries could gain by as much as 86 billion dollars alone, dwarfing annual bilateral assistance efforts."