WORLD TRADE WT/FIFTY/H/ST/3
19May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2075)
50THANNIVERSARY Original: French
19May1998
MOROCCO
Statement byHisRoyal Highness,
Crown Prince SidiMohammed
Itwasfouryears agoinMarrakesh thatthemultilateral trading system, whose jubilee weare
celebrating today, reached itsculminating point withthebirthoftheWorld Trade Organization, the
WTO. Forallofus,thiswasaveryspecial moment, andfortheworld asawhole itmarked adecisive
stepintheasyetunfinished construction ofacommunity ofnations desirous ofensuring thatlawprevails
overpower alone.
Ishould liketopaytribute heretoallthose who, fromHavana in1947toMarrakesh in1994,
notforgetting Punta delEstein1986, werethepioneers ofourmultilateral system andtheprotagonists
ofatransformation oftheeconomic andtrading system without precedent inthiscentury. Wetoo
arejoined inthistransformation which, when ithasbeencompleted, willhaveensured thatthevalues
ofsolidarity andthecommitments toopenness prevail overthelures ofunilateralism andthelawof
thejungle.
Today wearecelebrating the50thAnniversary ofatrading system bornfromtheruins ofthe
Second World War. Thissystem hasmade adecisive contribution torebuilding theglobal economy
andhasmorerecentlygivenimpetustoanexceptionalperiodofeconomicgrowth,technologicalprogress
andprogressive redistribution ofwealth andknowledge intheworld. Thevigour andmultilateral
philosophy ofthissystem havealsomade akeycontribution tothedefinitive elimination ofcolonialism
andtoshaping therules ofeconomic interdependence among nations based onthesame rights and
obligations forall.
Ladies andgentlemen, asweareallwellaware, thissystem isnotjustthelegalanddiplomatic
construction ofanother essential pillar oftheglobal economy. Firstandforemost, itisthereflection
ofachanging world thatisabout toenterthenextmillennium withglobal tradeapproaching theunreal
figure ofUS$10,000 billion ornearly onequarter oftheglobal gross domestic product. Aworld in
which theeverfaster paceofinnovation ininformation technology willeventually make theglobal
village, thatofmankind, trade andknowledge, anirreversible reality.
Does thisallow ustosaythatallisnowwell? Certainly not!Extreme wealth andextreme
poverty existsidebysideandstillwatch eachother every daythrough television screens inaworld
inwhich image andinformation know nofrontiers. Wemusttherefore takethefullmeasure ofthis
reality andthese continuing imbalances, foralthough thegrowing integration oftheglobal economy
overall hasbeentheengine ofmutual enrichment, nevertheless alarge sector ofthepopulation isstill
excluded fromthebenefits ofthisnew-found prosperity andtheprogress achieved. Since thebeginning
ofthe1990s developing countries have undoubtedly seentheir growth accelerate, butoverall the
imbalances persist andaregetting worse. Thepercapita gross domestic product intheG8countries
today isstill40times greater thantheaverage inthepoorest countries oftheplanet.WT/FIFTY/H/ST/3
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Wemustacknowledge thattheglobal project which thepioneers ofoursystem wished toput
intoplace continues tobejeopardized bytheplight ofthese hundreds ofmillions ofpeople whowill
notindefinitely accept permanent exclusion fromthegreatcurrent ofprosperity andprogress sweeping
onwards inthedeveloped partofourworld.
Itistruethatgrowth anddevelopment cannot bedecreed. Butitisalsotruethatmarginalization
andunderdevelopment arenotinevitable either.
HisMajesty King Hassan II,myaugust father, appropriately emphasized thisinhisclosing
speech totheMinisterial Conference inMarrakesh, when heproposed theestablishment ofagroup
tostudy thenewmechanisms ofeconomic andtrade globalization inaneffort toachieve themore
equitable integration ofthecountries oftheSouth. Wemustalltaketheinitiative onceagain towards
thisend.
These recommendations made byHisMajesty KingHassan IIfouryears agowerepremonitory
when oneconsiders whathasjusthappened incertain Asian countries.
Withconcern andapprehension wehavelooked on,powerless, asthefruits ofthelabour and
sacrifices ofseveral decades vanished injustafewhours. These achievements werewiped outinpart
bythefailures andimbalances oftheinternational monetary system, whose organization wasonceagain
sorely tested. These aresome examples thatrepresent thedross ofthedream ofthefounding fathers
ofoursystem, andtoday wemust allstrive tofindasolution forthem.
Itis11years tothedaysince theKingdom ofMorocco acceded totheGATT: itwason
18May1987, asalogical andconsistent further stepinthe30years ofwork ofpatiently building
amodern Moroccan economy based from theoutset onfreeenterprise, respect forprivate property,
theprevalence oftheruleoflawandpriority forregional integration.
Thislucid, determined andambitious strategy wasmade possible andmetwithsuccess because
thepolitical choices andthemodel ofsociety which HisMajesty KingHassan IIsought immediately
uponindependence never varied: aconstitutional andparliamentary monarchy based onpolitical and
trade union pluralism, amarket economy andrespect forhuman rights.
Thisprocess isdeeply rooted inourinstitutions andinourculture, andreached itsfullmaturity
withthedemocratic alternation implemented afewweeks ago,which isastepforward fullofhope
andpromise forourregion.
Thereason werefer tothisdimension ofMorocco 'slong-term project isthatwehavelong
recognized thatliberalization oftheeconomy thatwasnotinharmony withacoherent political process
would beincomplete andvulnerable.
Wealsoknow that,unless welinkuptoeconomic andtradeentities thathaveasufficient critical
mass, itwould bedifficult toenvisage sustainable performances intheareaofgrowth and
competitiveness. Ourdetermination toimplement anewmodel forrelations withourneighbour to
thenorth, theEuropean Union, hastobeseeninthisperspective. Byrenouncing thecosybutprecarious
andlimited support ofunilateral preferences andbyopting forreciprocal preferences, Morocco has
notchosen theeasypathbuttheresults weexpect willbeonlythemore significant anddurable.
Wearefullyaware thatthelinkage toEurope would lackadecisive advantage ifitwasnot
underpinned byaregional vision whose impact andpromise should notbeminimized. IntheMaghreb,
theMiddle EastorAfrica, theprogress ofregional integration, withduerespect forWTO rules, is
indispensable andindeed unavoidable ifthesituation created bytheacceleration andexpansion ofWT/FIFTY/H/ST/3
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globalization istobeusedtothebestadvantage. Onthebasisofhistory, geography, culture, language
andreligion, forMorocco theregion canandshould bethemain platform forsuccessful integration
intotheglobal competitive arena. Onthestrength ofitsnational situation, thesoundness ofitspolitical
choices, thesolidity andinfluence ofitsleadership, itistherefore Morocco 'slegitimate ambition to
playitsfullroleinthemultilateral system andinregional cooperation.
Thisisthestrategy thathasdetermined ouraction firstly asamember country oftheGATT
andthenoftheWTO.
Youareaware oftherolewehaveplayed within thisinstitution, eveninthemost difficult
moments. Whether chairing theAfrican Group, theGroup ofDeveloping Countries, orduring
multilateralnegotiations,Moroccohasalwaysemphasizeddialogueandunderstandingandhascontributed
toshaping theconsensus thathasenabled themultilateral system toreach thelevelitisattoday.
Inthisspirit, Morocco contributed tothedrafting oftheIntegrated Action PlanonBehalf of
theLeast-Developed Countries, adopted inSingapore, paving thewayfortheHigh Level Meeting
heldlastyeartogiveconcrete shape tothisproject. Thepreferences which Morocco undertook to
grant tothose countries ontheAfrican continent willbeimplemented andnotified totheWTO inthe
coming weeks.
Inimplementing itscommitments, Morocco hasalsoscrupulously respected allitsundertakings,
constantly remaining faithful toitsconviction thatonlyauniversal institution opentoall,withequitable
conditions ofaccess, willbeabletoguarantee forourtrading system thepredicability, transparency
andequity without which theruleoflawwould onlybeanillusion.
Thecurrent debate within theWTO onhowtodealwiththeMarrakesh andSingapore agenda,
onbroadening theagenda andonthemethodology offuture negotiations should nothideourstrategic
objectives. Inthisrespect, anything thatcould helptoachieve anunequivocal solution totheimbalances
anddifficulties towhich Ihavereferred should beincluded inanopen-ended andinnovative agenda.
With thisobjective inmind, Morocco, onthebasis oftheachievements andlessons drawn
fromtheUruguay Round negotiations, ismore thaneverdetermined toplayitsroleinthepromising
implementation oftheWTO 'sfuture programme ofaction, andtocontinue resolutely toassume its
responsibilities.
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