THE World Trade Organisation (WTO) told its members they would do well do demonstrate flexibility in the coming meetings as work continues on the draft text of their negotiations on fisheries subsidies.

"Gaps remain and much is left to be done to secure an agreement," said the Geneva-based organisation after the June 14 meeting of the delegations at the hours-long stocktaking meeting.

WTO Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, "I think we are moving but we are far from doing the job. It has taken a long time and we still have large gaps. However, in spite of the difficulties before us, I do feel that we have the best chance to make a difference now. It really is within reach."

She said the text is being looked at holistically to see what can be achieved before the July meeting of ministers.

The Director-General noted that Group of 7 (G7) leaders highlighted over the weekend the importance of a meaningful conclusion to the fisheries subsidies negotiations, and that ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and from the Caribbean Community have also pledged their support for the discussions.

"I desire more than ever to see us move forward so we don't miss out on the support we've heard from our leaders," she said. "There are many delegations that have observed that we still have some of the extreme positions that we had before but we also have many who are willing to negotiate and come closer to each other."

Chair of the negotiations, Mr Santiago Wills thanked members for their engagement and sought their flexibility and readiness to compromise in the next few weeks.

Meetings for the rest of this week will focus on the transparency and notification provisions, possible institutional arrangements and on new proposals from members. A meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee, chaired by the Director-General, will be held on June 25 for members to discuss how the July ministerial meeting will be run.

Under the mandate from the WTO's 11th Ministerial Conference held in Buenos Aires in 2017 and the UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 14.6, negotiators have been given the task of securing agreement on disciplines to eliminate subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, with special and differential treatment being an integral part of discussions.