This unique and important initiative, with strong encouragement and support from the Director General of the World Trade Organization, sought to identify fresh ideas, perspectives, and potential solutions to the obstacles standing in the way of securing outcomes of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations that support the goals of the Doha Development Agenda. The WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and the chairs of key negotiating committees actively participated to ensure that resulting recommendations and innovative thinking could be applied and help advance the negotiations in Geneva.

The participants included approximately 50 international decision-makers and opinion-leaders from government, industry and civil society who wish to advance the Doha Development Agenda and achieve its ambitious goals, working through the WTO negotiating process, collaborating with national governments, and working with and through key constituencies and interest groups. These efforts were aided by a small number of expert consultants and facilitators.

The organizing institutions - the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Salzburg Seminar - were aided by the expertise and program support of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD). Initial outcomes were reported in a briefing in Geneva on February 27 organized by the WTO Director General's office. A summary of the briefing points from the press release, as well as interviews with Pascal Lamy and other session participants, are located in the Seminar's Featured News. Additional information will be forthcoming and available on the principal organization's web sites and through ICTSD's BRIDGES publication.

Below, for reference, are preparatory materials provided to participants in advance of the session.