The leaders backed a "quick resumption" of the frozen Doha Round of global trade talks, the Swiss economics ministry said.

"They expressed a strong wish for a quick resumption of full scale activity in Geneva," the ministry, which hosted the meeting with World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy, said in a statement.

"The clear signal for the resumption of full scale negotiations in Geneva got strong support from political leaders and the business community gathered in Davos," the statement added.

The meeting of the select group of WTO members on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum was aimed at finding a way forward for the five-year-old talks which broke down in acrimony last July.

"We must tell the world that the Doha round is not dead," EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson told journalists in Davos during a break in the meeting with his counterparts in a luxury hotel.

Lamy suspended the negotiations at WTO headquarters in Geneva because of the persistent deadlock between the European Union, the United States and developing countries over trade tariffs.

Mandelson called on all those involved to show flexibility in the coming months.

In recent days, key countries including India and the United States had played down hopes of an immediate breakthrough in Davos, although they hinted at some progress.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, an influential member of the G20 group of developing countries in the WTO, said during an appearance at the Forum that Brazil was willing to make concessions.

However, he was only ready to persuade the G20 to accept a deal if the EU and United States bridged their gap over farm subsidies and tariffs first.

"It is necessary that the US and Europe reach an agreement, because otherwise there's no agreement," he said.

In the European Union, the French government in particular has insisted that the EU should not make any new offer to reduce import tariffs on farm products, a key bone of contetion with the United States and developing nations.

The round, which aims to break down trade barriers for the benefit of developing countries, is riven with cross-cutting disagreements about farm subsidies, import tariffs and attempts to break down barriers to industrial and services trade.