After making the rounds with various WTO country Ambassadors ranging from Brazil, EU, China to WTO officials Monday in Geneva, one theme was constant throughout the day. While Geneva stakeholders understand that the Administration is still undertaking their review of Doha, they all stressed that USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk's first visit to Geneva was significant in itself. People are very happy that he is here to meet firsthand with the Ambassador's who have been working on the Round for several years.

"The world has given us an opportunity to reset our relationships with a lot of our partners, so this is as much an opportunity for me to hear their perspectives as much as to share my own," Kirk told reporters as he arrived for talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva on Monday morning.

There are still some key sticking points about how and when to restart the negotiations, including an idea being floated around to proceed directly to scheduling commitments on agriculture and industrial goods (NAMA) and bypassing "modalities", but Kirk's presence in Geneva is creating a big buzz in itself.

My trip to Geneva will continue tomorrow, including meeting with the chairs of the key negotiating groups: Agriculture. NAMA and services.

More importantly, Ambassador Kirk's trip to Geneva will continue tomorrow when he is expected to meet with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton among others.

Buzz Buzz.