PRESS RELEASE
PRESS/297
11 June 2002
(02-3228)
WTO membership and trade liber alisation fosters prosperity,
stability and peace, says Director-General at WTO Ministerial
Trade Conference for Central and South East Europe
The WTO Secretariat in conjunction with the Governme nt of Croatia has, for the first time organized
a  WTO Ministerial Trade Conference for Central and South East Europe  in Zagreb, Croatia.
The Conference was opened today by WTO Director-G eneral Mr. Mike Moore and will run until 12
June 2002.
"This Conference is overdue," said Mr. Moore.  "Several countries from this region have been WTO
Members for some time.  Others have either recently joined the WTO or are in the process of joining.
Their concerns and interests differ from country to country but there are also areas of significant
commonality.  In all cases, there is much that could and needs to be done to assist their furtherintegration into the multilateral trading system. Greater integration will be beneficial for the system
and for all Members."
"WTO membership and trade liberalisation can help foster prosperity, stability and peace. Trade
liberalisation creates jobs and growth, and people who profit from trading with each other develop
and build stability.  WTO membership, or the prospect of it, can help lock in liberal economic reformsand a commitment to the rule of law. WTO's dispute settlement system provides a vital safety valve
for countries to settle their trade disputes without recourse to force. Thus, trade liberalisation,
commitment to the rule of law and the peaceful se ttlement of disputes through a multilateral forum
such as the WTO  are all ingredients for building a climate of stability . I am glad that transition
economies are playing a positive and constructive role in the multilateral trading system ,"  Mr. Moore
said.
Mr. Moore urged all key stakeholders, multilateral agencies, regional banks and bodies, as well as
bilateral donors, to play their part in assisting countries of the region to further integrate into the
trading system and prepare for Doha Development Agenda negotiations.
The Conference provides Ministers from the region with a unique opportunity to consider critical
issues relating to their countries' participation in the multilateral trading system. Over the next two
days, participants will be discussing some of the most critical issues facing the multilateral tradingsystem: technical cooperation; accession; issues emerging from Doha; regionalism; and challenges
and opportunities for trade and investment.
Ministers and high-level officials from 18 countri es, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Es tonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Latvia, Lithuani a, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic,PRESS/297
Page 2 of 6
Slovenia and Turkey are scheduled to participate.  Also invited are representatives from the following
multilateral agencies, regional banks and bodies, non-governmental organisations and bilateral
donors: the United States and the Commission of  the European Union, the diplomatic corps,
representatives from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Trade Centre,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and De velopment (EBRD), International Chamber of
Commerce, Organisation for Economic Cooperati on and Development (OECD), Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Stability Pact, Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC) , Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), United Nations
Conference on Trade and Developnment (UNCTAD), the Joint Vienna Institute, Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung, Soros Foundation and World Economic Forum.
Full text of Mr. Moore
statement is attachedPRESS/297
Page 3 of 6
Opening remarks
Speech by Mike Moore
Director-General of the World Trade Organization
WTO Ministerial Trade Conference
for Central and South East Europe
Zagreb, Croatia
11-12 June 2002PRESS/297
Page 4 of 6
It is my great pleasure to open this WTO Ministerial Trade Conference for Central and South
East Europe.   My sincere gratitude goes to the Government of Croatia for hosting this important
event.  This Conference is an opportunity for Member and non-Member countries, and participating
agencies, to exchange information and  share idea s on how we can work together for the advancement
of the region.  It will help us to learn directly from you how we can better assist your countries to
participate successfully in the multilateral trading sy stem.  It will also help us to identify ways to
support your countries’ preparations for, and participation in, the current WTO negotiating process.
Over the next two days, we will be discussing some of the most critical issues facing the
multilateral trading system: technical cooperation; accession; new issues emerging from Doha;
regionalism; and challenges and opportunities for trade and investment.  Never before has the WTO
Secretariat organised a high-level Conference of this kind in Central and South East Europe.  ThisConference is a start and we  will do more.  Several countries from this region have been WTO
Members for some time.  Others have either only recently joined the WTO or are still in the process
of joining.  Your concerns and interests differ from country to country but there are also areas of
significant commonality.  In all cases, there is much that could and needs to be done to assist
countries to further integrate into the multilateral trading system.   This will be beneficial for the
system and for all Members.
Creating a successful market economy in transition economies is a daunting challenge. But it
can be done. WTO membership and trade liberalisation can help to foster prosperity, stability and
peace.   Trade liberalisation creates jobs and growth, and people who profit from trading with each
other develop and build stability and understanding.  WTO membership, or the prospect of it, can help
lock in liberal economic reforms and a commitment to the rule of law. WTO's dispute settlement
system provides a vital safety valve for countries to settle their trade disputes without recourse toforce.  Thus, trade liberalisation, commitment to the rule of law and the peaceful settlement of
disputes through a multilateral forum such as the WTO are all ingredients for building a climate of
stability. I am glad that transition economies are playing a positive and constructive role in the
multilateral trading system.
To further your countries' integration into the multilateral trading system, we need all key
stakeholders to play their part.  This is why the WTO is here.  It is for this reason too that I have made
it an important point to involve multilateral agencies, regional banks and bodies, as well as bilateral
donors, in the programme.   I encourage representatives from these organisations to participate
actively in the dialogue.   For many countries, keeping up the momentum for domestic legislative and
economic reforms, both before and after joining the WTO, will require considerable efforts to develophuman and institutional capacity and expertise.
I and my staff are here to learn and to work with you to identify opportunities for providing
assistance in partnership with other agencies.  Over the next two days, I will be seeking your guidance
and wisdom.  With that in mind, may I invite you to keep in focus, as we discuss various issues, the
following sorts of questions :
• What are your countries' needs vis-à-vis  WTO's current and future work programme ?
• How can we help you to address these needs ?
• Where are the gaps ?
• What more do we need to do, in partnership with multilateral and regional agencies and
banks, and donors, to help fill in these gaps ?
Answers to these questions will help us to find and fix gaps as we make progress on the Doha
Development Agenda.  Discovering prob lems next year will be too late.PRESS/297
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To assist us in our discussions over the next two days, let me touch on some key aspects of
the current WTO work programme.   At the Doha Ministerial Conference held last November,
Members set an ambitious deadline of 1 January 2005 for the completion of the current round of trade
negotiations.  It is not a great deal of time, but Members have been approaching their work with
urgency and responsibility.  We have made excellent progress on matters of process:
• The Trade Negotiations Committee is established
• The structure of the negotiations is determined
• Chairs of the negotiating bodies are in place
• Work programmes of most of the bodies are finalised.
• Members have agreed to hold the Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico from
10 to 14 September 2003.
We have made equally good progress in other areas: Members have fully supported our
efforts on technical assistance; the Secretariat has refocused priorities on the Doha Development
Agenda; and we have also run successful initiatives to engage more fully with civil society, including
a public symposium held last month with over 700 participants.
Many commentators suggested it would take many months, perhaps years, for these decisions
to be taken.  That was the experience after the Uruguay launch.  However, our progress this time has
been encouragingly swift, so far.  I believe we can conclude the round within the three-year timeframe
agreed by Ministers.  But we must move the negotiations up a gear.
For the most part, the setting-up phase is over.  Already deadlines are looming.  We have just
16 months until the Ministerial in Cancun.  After that we have little more than a year to bring theRound to completion.
I think we have made as good a start as could have been hoped for.  But our timeframes give
no room for complacency. Nor should we mistake progress on procedure for progress on substance.
We will be discussing in greater detail this afternoon some of the issues emerging from Doha and the
challenges ahead.  From my Doha experience, I can tell you it is vital that we keep Ministers fully
informed and engaged in our work.  Your guidance, wisdom and flexibility will be needed at all
points in the negotiations.  It is then up to the trade negotiators of WTO Members to work withcommitment and flexibility to realise the enormous benefits offered by the multilateral trading system.
The process of domestic reform that accompanies further integration into the multilateral
trading system will have wide-ranging economic, political and social implications for economies in
transition. Changes of this kind require vision, courage and determination. They also require the
building of consensus among domestic interest groups to sustain the changes, notwithstandinginevitable difficulties. The benefits of being in  the WTO need to be communicated effectively to
secure the support of key sectors of society.  Businesspeople, for example, need to be much more
involved in our work and much more vocal in their support for the trading system.PRESS/297
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Why is the WTO and trade liberalisation so vital to prosperity and stability?  What are the
arguments that will convince and rally our respective constituencies?  There is no need to dwell on
these thoughts in such distinguished and experienced company, but I will give some examples of
what's at stake:
• In economic terms, cutting barriers to trade in agriculture, manufacturing and services by a third
would boost the world economy by US$613 billion.  That's like adding an economy the size of
Canada to the world economy.
• Abolishing all trade barriers could boost global income by $US2.8 trillion and lift 320 million
people out of poverty by 2015.
• In development terms, the elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers could result in gains for
developing countries in the order of $182 billion in the services sector, $162 billion in
manufactures and $32 billion in agriculture.
• OECD agricultural subsidies in dollar terms are two-thirds of Africa's total GDP.  Abolishing
these subsidies would return three times all the ODA put together to developing countries.  Kofi
Annan wants $10 billion to fight Aids; that is just 12 days subsidies.
Our task – yours and mine - is to present these arguments to the public and seek the additional
horsepower that their support can give to our trade negotiations.  If these do not convince, we have an
array of additional arguments:
• All seven of the UN Millennium Development goals – in health, education, poverty, etc – would
require US $54 billion annually, - just one third the estimate of developing country gains from
trade liberalisation.
• Let me share one example from a book I read recently.  Mongolians and Norwegians both paid
the US about $23 million in tariffs last year.  But Mongolia exported $143 million and Norway$5.2 billion, or 40 times as much.  In effect, Mongolians paid 16 cents to sell the US a dollar's
worth of sweaters and suits, while the Norwegians paid half a cent for every dollar's worth of
gourmet smoke salmon, jet engine parts and North Sea crude.
• For those concerned about the environment, studies suggest there are significant ecological
benefits from removing fish subsidies.
Of course, countries need not wait until the conclusion of the Doha Development Round to
commence reforms or liberalise trade.  For inst ance, trade facilitation, according to APEC and
UNCTAD studies, will generate huge returns.  Market access opportunities do not help if trucks are
held up at borders for days due to bureaucratic delays.   Domestic red-tape and bad governance,
wherever it occurs, in developed and developing countries or economies in transition, is costly and
corrosive.
The Doha Development Agenda will define international trading relations for the first part of
this new century.  We need to ensure that all countries have the opportunity to benefit from the Doha
Development Agenda and to help shape the future of the multilateral trading system. Our Conference
today marks yet another important stage in the  integration of countries of this region into the
multilateral trading system.   Beyond these few opening remarks, I welcome the opportunity to
explore with you specific challenges and opportunities faced by your countries in the four workingsessions in front of us.
ENDS