Rato also said the International Monetary Fund was determined to help poorer countries avoid relapsing into financial crisis as they win relief from donors on their heavy debts.

The collapse last week of the World Trade Organisation's troubled "Doha Round" of talks had been "very painful", the IMF managing director said in a speech at the Center for Global Development here.

"I hope that this is a pause, rather than a collapse, in the negotiations, and that negotiators will persevere and try to conserve the gains that have already been made," Rato said.

"I am referring especially to measures that are of particular concern to the poorest countries, such as phasing out export subsidies -- including on cotton -- and providing quota- and duty-free access from the poorest countries to developed and large developing country markets."

The Doha talks, which were supposed to dismantle worldwide barriers in agricultural and industrial trade, are now on hold after major developed and developing players failed last week in Geneva to bridge their differences.

Both the United States and European Union say that without a WTO deal, they will pursue more trade pacts with major partners at the bilateral and regional level.