Addressing the inaugural session, commerce minister Ramakrishna Hegde opposed any new round of global talks saying attention should be focused on issues of implementation of existing agreements relating to the built-in- agenda rather than new issues at this juncture.

The developed countries were pressing at the conference for new trade talks, though there was no unanimity on what form it should take.

While the European Union (EU) wants a new trade round like the eight rounds under the General Agreement for Tariffs & Trade (Gatt), the US favours trade liberalisation in specific sectors. European Union officials have been lobbying for a new ''millenium'' round of global trade negotiations, but the push for further trade liberalisation is being resisted by thethird-world nations.

The developing countries, notably India and Malaysia, felt that the time was not ripe for making new commitments and they cannot be pressed into jumping ahead.

Even though plans for a millenium round are yet to crystalise, the developing countires are under pressure to libralise some more sectors. The World Trade Organisation members are committed to start talks before 2000 on intellectual- property rights and the further opening of markets in areas such as agriculture and services.

An EU official said one key benefit of global talks was that participating nations could try to exchange concessions made in one area for trade advantage into another.

Trade ministers from 132 countries who began their closed-door session are expected to give their assessment on the issue of new trade talks in the ministerial text to be issued on Wednesday.

Referring to the general agreement on trade in services due for review in 2000, Hegde hoped that developing countries would be able to achieve asubstantial improvement in market access during the negotiations.

Hegde also raised the basmati-rice controversy and called for higher protection for products other than wines and spirits in the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. There are imbalances in the agreement and it is tilted against the holders of indigenous technology, he said.