Finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s richest nations expressed strong support for the Doha round of talks at the weekend, raising hopes that a multilateral deal on trade liberalisation could be clinched in the coming months.

Gathered in Essen for their first summit under Germany’s presidency of the G7-G8 group, the ministers said on Saturday they were “committed to resisting protectionist sentiment and fully support the re-launch of the Doha trade negotiations announced in Geneva.”