* U.S. looks forward to working with India on WTO
* Contacts encouraging so far
* Indicates diplomatic blockage to Doha deal lifting
* Brazil says singling out emerging countries unfair
(Adds further quotes, byline)
By Jonathan Lynn
GENEVA, June 24 (Reuters) - United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk is looking forward to working closely with his new Indian counterpart after a series of encouraging meetings, Kirk said on Wednesday.
His comments indicated that one of the most troubled relationships in international trade diplomacy was improving, clearing one obstacle to a deal in the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) long-running Doha round talks.
"These are very difficult negotiations and even though they take years to complete, I think sometimes interjecting new blood, new urgency, new ideas can breathe impetus to get us over the top," the former Dallas mayor told Reuters.
"I have had a number of opportunities already to meet with the new Indian trade minister, Anand Sharma. I'm very encouraged by what I've heard from him and look forward to continuing to work with him," Kirk said.
The former Dallas mayor was confirmed in the job only since March.
Kirk was talking on the sidelines of the annual ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) where he was due to meet Sharma, appointed last month, and other trade ministers over the next two days.
"I guess the Doha resumption should be there because the major players like the U.S. and India have a new secretary for trade so the possibility for that kind of new agreement...or a new opening of the agreement is quite real and concrete," Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told Reuters.
Negotiations on technical details of the Doha round have been continuing in Geneva among officials since December, when WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy decided at the last minute against calling in ministers to push for an outline deal because he judged the necessary political will was not there.
Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim gave an indication of how difficult the negotiations remained when he condemned U.S. calls for big emerging countries like Brazil, India and China to open their markets up further to help secure a deal.
"I think this pre-selection of some countries to make some concessions is totally unfair," he told a news conference.
Amorim said he was willing to talk to Kirk about making adjustments in the broad package now on the table.
But Brazil was not willing to reopen the negotiations completely after making concessions at a meeting of ministers last July on the assumption that was already the end-game.
In recent weeks several ministers have called for a resumption of high-level talks on Doha, launched in the Qatari capital in late 2001 to help developing countries prosper through more trade.
A meeting of trade ministers in Paris on Thursday hosted by Australia is expected to give further momentum, and Sharma has suggested calling key ministers together in India in September to try and clinch a deal. (Additional reporting by Tamora Vidaillet; Editing by Robert Woodward)