WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/24
18May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1985)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
SLOVENIA
Statement Circulated byDr.Marjan Senjur,
Minister forEconomic Relations andDevelopment
Attheoccasion ofthissecond session oftheWorld Trade Organization 'sMinisterial Conference
andthecelebration oftheestablishment oftheMultilateral Trading System, itisappropriate bythe
Ministers toreaffirm, astheyhavedoneinSingapore, theroleoftheWorld Trade Organization as
thespecially structured organization todealwithissues ofworld trade andtocarry usintothe21st
Century onthebasis ofanambitious future agenda.
Members intheWTO should further expand traderulesinkeyareasofinternational commerce.
Astheonlyforum formultilateral negotiations, theWTO mustmaintain themomentum forprogressive
trade liberalization within arule-based system. Intheprocess ofdoing sotheWTO should proceed
inabalanced manner. TheRepublic ofSlovenia strongly supports theneedtointensify efforts toensure
thatallaspects ofWTO work contribute totheobjectives ofsustainable development.
Infurthering itswork, theWTO should operate inatransparent way,facilitate tradeandthrough
itsMembersworktowardstheabolishmentofdiscriminatoryrestrictionsandregulatorypractices,ensure
accordance ofeffective national treatment, attheborder andinternally. Transparency should be
recognized asthekeyissue. Through transparency oftheirpolicies andtheirwork intheWTO,
Members should enable thestrengthening ofpublic confidence intheMultilateral Trading System.
Asignificant riseinpublic confidence iscrucial forthefuture ofthesystem. Members should keep
inmind, thatduring theexercise oftheirlegitimate WTO rights, theyshould alsobeabletorespond
totheinterests andconcerns ofallitsMembers.
Conscious ofthefactthatimplementation oftheachieved results ofnegotiations isanimportant
issue andconscious ofthefactthatthere isanarray ofother issues which areintheinterest ofall
Members, some ofwhich areofcritical importance fortheeffective functioning oftheMultilateral
Trading System, theRepublic ofSlovenia supports theestablishment ofabroad-based process among
theWTO Members under theauspices oftheGeneral Council, withtheaimofacomprehensive trade
liberalization negotiation, beginning inthelatterhalfof1999. Thiswould encompass thebuilt-in agenda
andkeyareas ofcommerce, suchasinvestment, competition policy, services, labour standards and
other interests within theagreed scope andmodalities. TheRepublic ofSlovenia supports anearly
startofthepreparatory work forthethird session oftheMinisterial Conference thatis,atleastby
September 1998.
TheRepublicofSloveniarecognizestheprimacyofthemultilateraltradingsystemwhichincludes
theframework forthedevelopment ofregional trade which iscomplimentary toit.Theprocesses
ofregional integration areofgreatimportance toSlovenia asasmall economy, inparticular, theprocess
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ofEuropean integration. Increasing integration ofeconomies facilitates tradeliberalization. Therefore,
processes ofglobal andregional trade liberalization should bemutually supportive intheframework
ofarule-based multilateral trading system.
Believing thatitisessential thattrading nations should beMembers oftheWTO, whether large
orsmall, Slovenia attaches great importance totheaccession ofnewcountries. Intheprocess of
integration intotheMultilateral Trading System, newentrants should make enforceable commitments
intheareaofmarket access, adherence totheWTO rules andmake other meaningful commitments
inorder tomaintain thefabric oftheMultilateral Trading System inthefuture.
Insome other commercially important areas tobeconsidered intheWTO suchasgovernment
procurement, investment, competition policies, trade facilitation, measures fortheprotection ofthe
environment, etc.theRepublic ofSlovenia isstrongly infavour ofachieving maximum possibilities
toensure transparency ofpolicies andpractices, andtodevelop transparency agreements intheWTO.
Inother words, clearandeffective procedures should bedeveloped tosecure information onnational
legislation, procedures andprocedural requirements inthementioned areas, information onpractices
andopportunities, aswellastosecure therightofaccess tothisinformation. Partofthetransparency
exerciseshouldalsobethetransparencyofdecision-making.Thiswouldencourageopenandcompetitive
regimes specific toeacharea.
OnGlobal Electronic Commerce, theRepublic ofSlovenia supports theestablishment ofa
comprehensive workprogramme covering trade-related issues under theauspices oftheGeneral Council
withtheaimtoproduce recommendations forconsideration atthethird session oftheMinisterial
Conference.
TheWTO hasaverypositive track record ofimportant achievements. Itisbinding nations
andtheireconomies closer together onthebasisofmutually beneficial economic interests. Members
should therefore maintain theseachievements anddevelop theconcept ofopen-endedness. Multilateral
liberalization ispresently themost effective waytoovercome economic pressures andcrises. The
essence ofthisglobal process should becommunicated tothewider public more effectively, sothat
thedimensions ofraising standards ofliving worldwide, ofproviding amore stable andsecure climate
ininternational relations isbetter understood.
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