World leaders need to summon the political will to run "the last lap" this year and finish the long-running Doha round of world trade talks, the head of the World Trade Organization said on Friday.

"G20 leaders said last year they wanted to finish this during 2010. It remains to be seen whether this political guidance translates into running the last lap," WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said in speech by video.

He said the world trading system had survived the financial crisis without significant protection. But "we are not out of the woods" because of high unemployment in many countries that could trigger protectionist moves, Lamy said.

Reuters