RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/LLDC/W/8
3July1997
ORGANIZATION(97-2789)
Original: English Sub-Committee onLeast-Developed Countries
Preparatory Session oftheHigh-Level Meeting
STATEMENT BYZAMBIA ATTHE PREPARATIONS FOR THE
HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ONINTEGRATED INITIATIVES FOR
LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 'TRADE DEVELOPMENT
Iamdelighted tonotetheprogress thathasbeenachieved toprepare fortheHigh-Level Meeting
inOctober 1997. However, having listened carefully totheother speakers, Ihavenodoubt inmy
mind thatmany outstanding issues would continuously come upforfurther discussion andclarification
aswepushtheprocess forward.
Thereason forthisconsultative process isprimarily driven bythecomplex nature oftheissues
tobehandled during theOctober meeting, thatwould include thesubjects ofmarket access, and
enhancing thesupply capacity oftheLDCs.
Inparagraph 5oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration theMinisters expressed concern that
certain LDCs risked marginalization intheprocess ofliberalization andglobalization, andcalled for
greater coherence ininternational economic policy-making forimproved co-ordination between the
WTO andother agencies inproviding technical assistance.
TheHigh-Level Meeting should, therefore, beseeninthecontext ofthePlanofAction for
LDCs, designed attenuate theeconomic decline ofLDCs through measures suchasduty-free access
onanautonomous basissoastoimprove theiroverall capacity torespond totheopportunities offered
bythetrading system.
Iwould liketobelieve thattheHigh-Level Meeting should, therefore, seekamong other things,
toactualize theideals ofthePlanofAction forLDCs, andthatistoassist these countries toexpand
anddiversify theirexports, including thecreation ofanenabling environment forinvestment.
Therecognition oftheprocess ofglobalization, andtheneedfortheLDCs toadapt tothis
process, andnottoresist theprocess, should becentral totheresults oftheConference. Hence, the
packaging oftechnical assistance andautonomous market access initiatives should essentially leadto
theadaptation andintegration ofthese countries intotheworld trading system.
During theearlystages ofourpreparations itwasdeemed efficient thatthebeneficiary countries
taketheinitiative toprepare theirneeds fortrade-related technical assistance, however, itwasquickly
realized thatsome ofthecountries didnothavetheinstitutional capacity tocarry outsuchassessments.
Itisgood news, forthatreason, tohearthatthevarious cooperating institutions willassist
inthepreparations ofindividual assessments before October. Theresults ofthese preparations would
determine, Ibelieve, thequality oftheroundtables.
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Furthermore, considering thattheHigh-Level Meeting derives fromtheAction PlanforLDCs,
implies thattheresults orthepackage from themeeting should beapplicable toasmany LDCs as
possible, especially those thathavedemonstrated theircapacity totaketheinitiative. Therefore, the
noneparticipation ofanyindividual LDC should belimited tothecountry 'sinability toabsorb trade-
related technical assistance ortheanticipated autonomous market access provisions andnotthrough
apredetermined exclusionary process.
Thelogic tothisperception isthatthemarginalization ofLDCs intheglobal economy is
intrinsically linked totheireconomic condition astheyattempt torespond tothedynamic imperative
ofglobalization and,therefore, thepackaging oftheanticipated results should betoarrest thedecline
ofthese countries inglobal terms. Because ifweoptforatwo-track approach theLDCs thatareleft
outnowwillcontinue todecline. Agood example istheexisting ITC/WTO/UNCTAD integrated
technical assistance programme forAfrica, which isalready initssecond yearwithnosignforthe
second stage oftheprogramme (new countries).
Itisimportant tonotthatfourAfrican LDCs arealready inthisprogramme, andlikely tobe
roundtabled inOctober. Isuppose thenotion ofbalance should beconsidered forthecountries who
arenotincluded inthisprogramme.