V. Kanoria, chairman of the FICCI task-force on WTO issues, said: 'The global economic crisis has not only made the goal of concluding Doha Round more challenging, it has also made it more imperative.'

'Reaching a balanced multilateral agreement would bring greater, predictability, transparency and stability into global trade, which is so important in today's scenario of economic slowdown.'

Commenting on non-agricultural market access (NAMA), Singhania said sectoral tariff negotiations should remain non-mandatory.

FICCI further said there has to be faster and substantive developments in negotiations related to the services sector.

Indian professionals and service providers expect significant gains from the Doha Round in terms of enhanced market access in major export destinations, it added.

In 2008, India's share was less than 3 percent of the $3.7-trillion global exports of commercial services, the chamber said.