RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/M/61/Add.1
14 February 2001
(01-0721)
General Council
30 January and 8 February 2001
MINUTES OF MEETING
Held in the Centre William Rappard
on 30 January and 8 February 20011
Chairman:  Mr. Kåre Bryn (Norway)
Addendum
1. Date and venue of the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference
1. The General Council resumed its meeting adjourned on 15 December 2000 to continue
consideration of item 12 of the agenda, "Date and venue of the Fourth Session of the Ministerial
Conference".
2. The Chairman recalled that at the informal General Council meeting on 23 January, he had
informed Members of certain developments that had taken place since its December meeting and
which were:  (i) a communication received from Qatar requesting an early decision on its offer
(WT/GC/33/Add.2);  (ii) information he had receiv ed from the Ambassador of Chile, indicating that
his country would not make a formal offer to host the next Ministerial Conference;  (iii) consultations
he had had with a number of delegations, which had indicated that the General Council could take an
early decision on the question of date and venue of the next Ministerial Conference;  (iv) discussions
with the Ambassador of Qatar, who had assured him that his Government was already working
seriously to ensure proper conditions for the Conference and that visa arrangements would not be a
problem, so that all Members could participate in the Conference.  He also noted that at that informal
meeting, there was a broad support for  the offer from Qatar and that a decision could be reached on
the matter at the present meeting.  He had then proposed 5-9 November 2001 as a possible date for the
Conference.  Subsequently the Director-General received a communication from the Director-Generalof the FAO informing him that the World Food  Summit would be held on these same dates.
Therefore he had proposed, at an informal session prior to the present meeting an alternative date of
29 October to 2 November 2001.  At the informal meeting of 23 January, he had also indicated that
delegations wishing to address technical questions to  Qatar could do so through the Secretariat, which
would take them up with the delegation of Qatar.   A technical mission from Qatar would come to
Geneva in the spring to address such issues.
3. He then proposed that the General Council au thorize its Chairman, in cooperation with the
Director-General, to start consultations on both organizational and substantive matters related to the
preparation of the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference and to report back to the General
Council on progress made.  He also proposed that the decision on the venue of the next MinisterialConference be taken at the present meeting, and that the date of the Conference be considered at the
                                                     
1 This meeting is the continuation of the meeting that was adjourned on 15 December 2000.  The
minutes of that meeting are contained in WT/GC/M/61.WT/GC/M/61/Add.1
Page 2
General Council meeting on 8 February 2001, taking into account the two alternative dates which had
been put forward.  He therefore suggested to include an item on the agenda of that meeting to address
the issue of the date of the Conference.
4. All representatives who spoke welcomed and supported Qatar's offer to host the Fourth
Session of the Ministerial Conference.
5. The representatives of European Communities, Egypt , United States , Japan , Paraguay  (on
behalf of the MERCOSUR Members), Canada , Romania  (on behalf of the CEFTA Members, Croatia ,
Estonia and Latvia), Korea , India  and Bangladesh  said that they would cooperate with Qatar, other
Members and the Secretariat in the preparatory process to ensure the successful organization of the
Ministerial Conference.  The representatives of Egypt, Malaysia  (on behalf of the ASEAN Members ),
Mexico, Venezuela , India  and Morocco  were confident that Qatar would ensure that all requirements
would be fulfilled to make the Fourth Sessi on of the Ministerial Conference a success.  The
representatives of the United States, Canada , India , Kuwait , Israel  and Bangladesh  supported the
Chairman's proposal to hold further consultations on the dates of the Fourth Session of the MinisterialConference.  In that context, the representatives of the United States, Cuba
, Canada , Kenya ,
Venezuela and India  said that the request by the FAO as well as other events occurring at the same
time should be taken into account.
6. The representative of the European Communities said that Members should work on both
substantive and organizational aspects, taking into account the experience of the Third Ministerial
Conference in Seattle.  This required concrete and visible steps to ensure both internal transparency,
with full participation of Members, including developing countries, and external transparency vis-à-
vis civil society and the media.  In this context, assurance had been given by Qatar and the Director-
General that civil society would have full access to the Ministerial Conference.  Members would also
have to reach out collectively to civil society during the preparatory process.
7. The representative of Bulgaria thanked the Chai rman for his efforts to resolve the difficulties
linked to the venue and date of the Fourth Ministerial Conference.  His delegation supported the
statement made by the European Communities, particularly on the issue of transparency.  Although heagreed with the Chairman's proposal in substance, he believed it inappropriate to add an item to the
agenda of the next General Council meeting less than 10 days before that meeting.  The present
meeting should be adjourned and resumed at a later stage to take a decision on this matter.
8. The representative of Egypt said that an organization committee should be set up in the
Secretariat to work with the host country, in order to start the preparatory process.  If such a
committee was set up her delegation wished to be informed of any decision and subsequent
developments.
9. The representative of United States shared the views expressed by the European Communities
on the importance of internal and external transparency and noted that Members' response to public
interest would have an impact on how the results of the meeting would be perceived.
10. The representative of Cuba noted that the decision of the General Council to hold the Fourth
Ministerial Conference in Doha was in line with the position of the Group of 77 at the South Summit
in April 2000 welcoming Qatar's offer.
11. The representative of Pakistan said that his delegation was confident that Qatar would
respond to the requirements of all Members, as well as of civil society.  Members would have to
carefully prepare the Conference, taking into consideration both the substantive and organizational
aspects of the Conference.  The Chairman should therefore commence consultations thereon in atransparent and inclusive manner.WT/GC/M/61/Add.1
Page 3
12. The representative of Canada said that the General Council's decision on the venue of the
Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference would allow Members to move the substantive
preparatory work ahead.  His delegation looked forward to meeting the technical mission from Qatar
when they come to visit the WTO.  He welcomed any discussion, and ultimately any decision that
would render the Ministerial Conference open and pr oductive to all Members, both from an internal
and external perspective.  He encouraged other Members, including Chile, to consider the possibility
of hosting a Ministerial Conference in the future.  Finally, he noted that the practice of hosting every
second WTO Ministerial Conference at headquarters could be an option for Members to consider.
13. The representative of Mauritius, on behalf of the African Group , agreed with the Chairman's
proposal to postpone the decision on the date of the Ministerial conference until the February meeting
of the General Council.
14. The representative of Chile expressed appreciation for the favourable report by the Secretariat
on the possibility of Chile hosting a Ministerial Conference and thanked Members for the time given
to his country to finalize its examination of all aspects attached to hosting such a Conference.  After
serious consideration, his government had concluded that it would not be possible for it to host the
WTO Ministerial Conference on this occasion.  With respect to Canada's suggestion that Chile should
consider the possibility of hosting a Conference in the future, he wished to state that one of the mainaspects taken into account by his government when considering the possibility of hosting the
Conference had been the financial one.  In his dele gation's view expenses not directly related to the
Conference should be budgeted for and financed on the basis of the scale of contributions of
Members.  This would alleviate the overall financial burden for the host country and would encourage
more developing countries to come forward with offers to host such events.  Members should comeback to this matter in the near future.  Finally,  he looked forward to meeting the technical mission
from Qatar and to participating actively in the preparation of the Fourth Session of the Ministerial
Conference, which should serve as a launch pad for the next round of negotiations.
15. The representative of Kenya supported the statement made by Mauritius on behalf of the
African Group.  He noted with appreciation Qatar's commitment to welcome to Doha all stakeholders
of the multilateral trading system, including its critics.  While expressions of scepticism would
probably occupy a important part of the media coverage, the challenge facing the Membership would
nonetheless be to ensure that the benefits of the multilateral trading system accrued to all, as stated in
the preamble to the WTO Agreement.
16. The representative of Mexico said that Members would have to take a decision on the venue
and date of the next Ministerial Conference as soon as possible in order to give Qatar enough time for
the preparations and for Members to start working on the substantive aspects of the Conference.  Hisdelegation shared the views expressed by other delegations as to the importance of transparency.
However, this was an issue which should be judged on its own merits, as it applied to all Ministerial
Conferences.  The fact that the Fourth Ministerial Conference would be held in Qatar had no direct or
indirect implications for the work on transparency in the WTO.  Therefore, he hoped that the
Chairman would continue his consultations on internal transparency and on the organization ofMinisterial Conferences, in view of developing general guidelines for this type of event.  Finally, he
thanked Chile for having considered the possibility of hosting the Fourth Session of the Ministerial
Conference in Santiago and hoped that Chile would be willing to consider that option again in the
future.
17. The representative of Romania, on behalf of the CEFTA Members, Croatia, Estonia and
Latvia, said that these countries would participate in the Chairman's consultations on the date of the
Fourth Ministerial Conference.WT/GC/M/61/Add.1
Page 4
18. The representative of Turkey said that given Qatar's willingness and experience in organizing
important events, he was confident that Qatar would do everything to ensure the success of this
Conference.
19. The representative of Korea assured Qatar of his government's full cooperation for the
successful conduct of the Ministerial Conference.  With regard to the date of the Ministerial
Conference, his delegation would consult with his government and revert to this matter at the General
Council meeting in February.
20. The representative of Senegal supported the statement made by Mauritius on behalf of the
African Group and noted the constructive and cooperative spirit constantly shown by Qatar since they
had first made their offer.
21. The representative of Gabon supported the statement made by Mauritius on behalf of the
African Group and thanked the Chairman for his effort s in holding consultations to bring this matter
to closure.  She hoped that a final decision would soon be reached thereon, to allow Members to focus
on the preparations for the Ministerial Conference.
22. The representative of Venezuela hoped that the Ministerial Conference would be successful in
ensuring constructive developments towards further liberalization on a continuing basis.
23. The representative of Morocco said that Members should move forward in their preparatory
work on the substantive aspects of the Conference including preparation of the forthcoming
negotiations, which he hoped would be launched in Qatar.  He was confident that Qatar would ensure
that all conditions were met to allow Members as well as non-Members to attend the Ministerial
Conference.
24. The representative of Nigeria supported the statement made by Mauritius on behalf of the
African Group and said that he looked forward to  a successful Ministerial Conference in Qatar.
25. The representative of Argentina thanked the Chairman for his informal consultations on the
date and venue of the Fourth Ministerial Conference.
26. The representative of Kuwait recalled that Qatar was the first State to offer to host the Fourth
Session of the Ministerial Conference and was confident that Qatar was capable to host the meeting
successfully.
27. The representative of Israel said that his delegation was pleased to join in the consensus in the
General Council to accept Qatar's offer to host the Fourth Ministerial Conference.
28. The Chairman said that his proposal to consider the issue of the date of the Fourth Ministerial
Conference at the next General Council meeting was in line with Rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure,
which stated that "the General Council may amend the agenda or give priority to certain items at any
time in the course of the meeting".
29. The representative of Bulgaria said that Members should abide by the general rules of
procedure and that there was no reason to make an exception in this case.
30. The representative of Mexico asked whether the Chairman had proposed to add the item of
the date of the next Ministerial Conference to the agenda of the February General Council under
"Other Business", in which case Members could take any decision as long as there was consensus tothis effect, or as a self-standing item on the agenda.WT/GC/M/61/Add.1
Page 5
31. The Chairman said that in accordance with the rules of procedure, the General Council was
not expected to take decisions under "Other Business", hence he had suggested to include a separate
agenda item on the date of the next Ministerial Conference.
32. The representative of Chile said that for the benefit of all, the time when a final decision on
the date of the next Ministerial Conference would be taken should be known.  His delegation therefore
supported the proposal made by the Chairman.
33. The representative of Morocco said that although his delegation did not have a problem with
the proposal made by the Chairman, an alternative would be to suspend the meeting and reconvene it
when Members would be ready to take a decision.
34. The Chairman said that by making his proposal, he was hoping to be able to give Qatar and
other Members, certainty as to the exact time when a decision would be taken on the question of the
date of the Fourth Ministerial Conference.
35. The representative of Morocco proposed that the General Council reconvene this meeting on
8 February to take a decision on the date of the Ministerial Conference before the regular meeting of
the General Council on that date.
36. The representative of Bulgaria said that he had no problem with the substance of the decision
to be taken and agreed with Morocco to reconvene the present meeting on 8 February before the
regular General Council meeting.
37. The Chairman proposed that the General Council  agree to accept the offer from Qatar to hold
the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference in Doha.  He also proposed that the General Council
reconvene the present meeting on the 8 February to decide on the date for the Conference, taking into
account the two alternative dates outl ined in his introductory statement.  He also proposed that the
General Council authorize its Chairman, in cooperation with the Director-General, to start
consultations on both organizational and substantive matters related to the preparation of the Fourth
Session of the Ministerial Conference and to report back to the General Council on progress made.
38. The General Council so agreed.
39. The representative of Qatar thanked the Director-General, the Secretariat, and Members for
their support.  He also thanked the Chairman for hi s efforts in leading the General Council to a final
decision on the venue of the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference.  His delegation assured
Members of his country's determination to ensure the success of the Conference.  Further
consultations with his Government would be necessary regarding the new dates proposed and he
hoped that an early decision could be taken on this matter.
40. The Chairman, on behalf of all Members, congratulated the representative of Qatar for the
decision taken by the General Council.
41. The meeting was adjourned.
42. Upon resumption of the meeting on 8 February, the Chairman said that in light of his
consultations on possible dates for the Conference, he proposed that the Fourth Session of the
Ministerial Conference in Doha be held from 9 to 13 November 2001.
43. The General Council so agreed.
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