Lima - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said Sunday in Lima that the prospects of the Doha Round of talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) have changed after seven years of failures.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is aware that, in the current context of global economic and financial crisis, "the world might turn protectionistic," Aso said. This is an issue that needs "to be responded to quickly."

The Japanese leader held a press conference in the Peruvian capital following the 16th annual APEC Leaders' Meeting, which expressed a commitment "to reach agreement on modalities next month on the basis of progress made to date" on the Doha Round.

APEC called for "an ambitious and balanced conclusion to the Doha Development Agenda negotiations to provide the basis for our economies to grow and prosper."

However, Aso himself provided evidence that the path to an agreement on Doha is still likely to be bumpy, when asked what his plans were for Japanese agriculture in the light of a successful Doha Round.

"There are certain areas that we ought to defend and protect, so we will do that," he said.

Still, he stressed that the world should have learned "certain lessons" from the Great Depression of the 1930s, when countries turned protectionist and tried to depreciate their own currencies.

"We are not doing that," Aso underlined. (dpa)