GENEVA -- One of the remaining two candidates for the next Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Roberto Azevedo said Saturday that the organization is losing relevance progressively but he thinks he could help.

Azevedo, the Brazil's permanent representative to WTO since 2008, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that members have not really tried to break the deadlock of the Doha round since 2010.

"I think it's time that we go back to the table," he said.

He said one of his advantages is that he knows where the problems are for the Doha round negotiations.

If he becomes the WTO new chief, "I don't have to waste time looking for, asking around and trying to understand what the situation is before I can make a push."

"I will start at the problems," he said, adding that the three market access areas, including industrial goods, agriculture and services, are where problems are located.

Azevedo has been known for getting the WTO to discuss the impact of exchange rates on global trade, which many members consider not a relevant question to be discussed in the WTO.

He said the current WTO rules reflect the Uruguay round which was developed on the basis of a world that existed almost 30 years ago and the organization has to look at new issues.

"There is no way forward for the organization unless it's discussing, examining and eventually negotiating the issues which are priorities for businesses and those priorities change over time," he said.

He said he understood that a large number of members believe that if WTO begins to examine the new issues, that will be abandoning the Doha round, the development agenda and issues which are also very important for today's world.

"The best way of clearing the way to discuss and look at these new issues is to get the Doha round out of the way," he said.

He said he is sure that members want a solution for the Doha round, but do not agree on what the solution is.

"What I'm going to do is try to help them find a solution which is acceptable to everyone," he said.

Asked whether the complaints by some countries that Brazil is growing to be more protectionist in recent years will have negative impact on his campaign, Azevedo said that the WTO DG should be absolutely independent and impartial.

The new chief, once selected, "will be following direction from members and trying to promote the principles of the organization, not their countries," he said.

Azevedo is competing with Mexican candidate Herminio Blanco Mendoza, former minister for trade and industry, who led Mexico's participation in the Uruguay round of talks and the government's lobbying efforts for the approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the U.S. congress.

According to the WTO procedure, the DG should be appointed by members by consensus.

The final consultations began on May 1 and continue through May 7. The result will be reported to all members at an open-ended meeting of heads of delegations on May 8.

The selected one is to succeed Frenchman Pascal Lamy whose second four-year term ends on August 31.