RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/ACC/KHM/11
15 February 2002
(02-0790)
Working Party on the
Accession of CambodiaOriginal:  English
ACCESSION OF CAMBODIA
Communication from the Kingdom of Cambodia
The Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia has submitted the following speech given by
H.E. Mr. CHAM Prasidh, Minist er of Commerce, at the 2nd Working Party on the Accession of
Cambodia to the WTO held on 14 February 2002.
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Speech at the opening of the 2nd Working Party Meeting
on the Accession of Cambodia Accession to the WTO
by H.E. Mr. CHAM Prasidh,
Minister of Commerce and Head  of the Cambodian Delegation
Geneva,  14 February 2002
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, on behalf of the Kingdom of Cambodia's Delegation, I would like to express our
deep appreciation to the WTO Secretariat and the Chairman of the Working Party on Cambodia's
accession into the World Trade Organization for making this second Working Party meeting possible
as well as for the arrangements of bilateral negotiations in Geneva.
I would like also to express my deep appreciation to all of you for attending this 2nd Working
Party Meeting on February 14, which is a very symbolic day for Cambodia and its trading partners.
May I wish you a Very Happy Valentine's Day! And for all those of you who celebrate also the
Chinese New Year, which started on the 12th of this month, I wish you Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since we have had our 1st Working Party Meeting on May 22, 2001 we have witnessed a lot
of developments in our preparation for accession to the WTO:
- The WTO Secretariat has consolidated the questions raised by interested members of the
WTO, namely Australia, Canada, India, Japan, the European Union, the United States of
America) in June 2001;WT/ACC/KHM/11
Page 2
- Cambodia prepared the replies which were completed since July 2001 but because of the
serious floods that affected our economy, much of the time of the members of the Royal
Government of Cambodia under Prime Minister Samdech HUN SEN, were devoted to flood
relief operations, therefore extra time was needed to clear the draft replies of Cambodia with
our Council of Ministers;
- The official visit of WTO Director General H.E. Mr. MIKE MOORE to Cambodia on 26 and
27 November 2001 during which he was handed ov er with a formal copy of Cambodia's
Replies to WTO members' questions;
- The WTO Secretariat receives our formal reply in soft and hard copies, which were
subsequently disseminated to WTO members in December 2001;
- Several progress were made in the legislation process in our efforts towards WTO rules
compliances:
- Adoption of the Law on Marks, Trade Na mes and Acts of Unfair Competition
(February 2002)
- Adoption of the draft Law on the Protection of Patents, Utility Model Certificates and
Industrial Designs by the Council of Ministers on 12 October 2001, which is now
being processed by Parliament
- Completion of negotiations with the private sector for the revision and amendment of
the Law on Investment before going to Parliament.
- Adoption of the Insurance Law and im plementing Sub-Decree (September 2001)
- Adoption of the Land Law (October 2001)
- To support Cambodia's accession to the WTO, efforts to push forwards the "Cambodian
Model" for the Integrated Framework have so far been impressive:
- National Workshop on IF in Phnom Penh (November 2001)
- Pre-Consultative Group meeting of donors in Phnom Penh (January 2002)
- Briefing sessions in Paris, Amsterdam (January 2002) and Geneva (February 2002)
- Nomination of H.E. Mr. SUOS SOMETH as Ambassador based in Geneva since
December 2001;
- Reinforcement of the Working Group on Cambodia's accession to the WTO through the
appointment of over 100 senior officials from concerned ministries to serve in such a Think
Tank;
- Reinforcement of policy coherence and coordination towards WTO compliance by adding
further responsibilities to the Minister of Commerce to act as:
- Vice Chairman of the Council for the De velopment of Cambodia (CDC) responsible
for FDIs
- Minister in charge of the Programs for Economic Cooperation in the Greater Mekong
Sub-region (GMS)
- Minister in charge of the Programs for Economic Integration of the Cambodia-Laos-
Vietnam Growth Triangle
- Accession of Cambodia to IMF Article VIII from 1 January 2002 onwards.
On the political front, substantial reforms were made in many areas: demobilization of more
than 10,000 soldiers, successful organization of first-ever elections for communal councils in
February 2002, initiation of a Governance Action Plan (GAP) for good governance, judicial systemreform also being under way.WT/ACC/KHM/11
Page 3
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Despite the difficulties we were facing, we have tried our best to provide replies to WTO
Members' questions as soon as we can. We have tabled offers in goods and services that are quite
substantial from the viewpoint of a LDC. This quick action and this substantial concession testify the
seriousness we put in our accession into the WTO. We do not rush to enter WTO just for the sake of
being a member, but to be in a position to play a more active role and to benefit from the world
trading system. Without bringing back to Cambodia the benefits of globalization, the whole
preparation process that we have so far undertaken would be jeopardized by opposition forces to
globalization, which are still on the wait-and-see position in Cambodia.
Last year's bilateral meetings and this week's bilateral meetings have indicated that while
there are a lot of sympathy and efforts in helping speed up the process and to extend technical
assistance to Cambodia, there have not been clear signals and commitments on extending the
flexibilities that are commensurate with our LDC status. While we expect to improve market accessoffers, I must say that some of the requests we have heard this week are not feasible for Cambodia.
How to expedite the process of Cambodia's Accession?  The Cambodian delegation views the
following actions as very important for our Working Party's work:
- To conduct and complete bilateral meetings as soon as possible: interested WTO Members
shall provide in written form what they want from Cambodia and, in the fastest way possible,
bilateral meetings can resume either in Phnom Penh, Cambodia or, at a last recourse, in
Geneva, due to financial constraints for the Cambodian side; or more appropriately use e-mail
to exchange views;
- To conduct in Geneva during this week an informal plurilateral meeting on agriculture;
- To consider moving to a more advanced step in the accession process namely discussing
commitments and entry terms; and
- Extension of Technical Assistance to Cambodia on a fast-track basis (not later than one
month, with minimum paperwork requirements) in some specific areas where immediate
compliance to WTO rules are needed.
These actions are necessary to accelerate the momentum that is set forth from the Doha
Ministerial Meeting.
We have learned since last year about the pledges of the major trading nations saying they
would work to ensure that the accession process is more effective and less onerous for LDCs andtailored to their specific economic conditions, taking into consideration limited administrative
capacities by streamlining procedures and documentation required, minimizing the number of Geneva
meetings and consolidating Member's exchanges with LDC applicants.
Cambodia is now the first LDC to have a Working Party meeting after the Doha ministerial
meeting and after the tragic 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US and subsequent war on
Afghanistan.  I need not to recall the 22 paragr aphs of the Doha Ministerial Declaration (DMD)
towards the LDCs, especially what has been written in paragraph 42.  LDCs are watching whether the
DMD will work or not. Now, the current Working Party meeting and the bilateral/plurilateral
negotiations tracks we have had and are going to have in Geneva this week will be a good test of thesincerity and goodwill of the developed countries towards LDCs, especially towards Cambodia.WT/ACC/KHM/11
Page 4
While the Cambodian economy is already quite a liberal one for a LDC like Cambodia, there
are certainly still many pieces of legislation needed to complete the required legal framework. Again,
a LDC cannot afford to do everything in a short timeframe despite all the efforts and political will so
far displayed. We hope that due consideration will be given to start drafting the Report of thisWorking Party on the accession process while leaving some commitments to be fulfilled by Cambodia
upon accession. These commitments would be certainly fulfilled faster if your technical assistance
comes in a timely manner.
May I recall last year's call of the Quad countries regarding WTO Rules and their
implementations in which they will "make full use of the flexibility foreseen under the WTO
Agreements for LDCs, like the granting of transitional periods for the full implementation of specificrules. While the goal should be the adoption of WTO provisions upon accession, these transitional
periods may be applied to the acceding LDCs upon request and presentation of a detailed plan of
action for assuring compliance with WTO rules, to be included in the protocol of accession. The
implementation of the action plans could be supported by technical assistance."
It may not be by trying at this stage to get the most of concessions from a tiny country like
Cambodia that WTO members will get something substantial for their countries, it shall be instead at
the new round of trade negotiations kicked off at Doha last November that more important and more
substantial gains should be sought. Any insistence on "WTO-plus" obligations for Cambodia that has
no current or potential capabilities to become a major player in the world market will not be a show ofgoodwill from WTO members. WTO members have to take into account the internal adjustment
shocks that Cambodia can confront when complying with the new rules in the absence of reasonable
transition concessions. Just asking for a few reasonable schedules of commitments on goods and
services from Cambodia would be perceived as a positive gesture from all WTO Members. Therefore,
doing away with the WTO-plus conditions for acc ession and the automatic extension of Special &
Differential (S&D) provisions to Cambodia – as an acceding LDC – would seem to be good starting
points.
As one of the three pilot countries selected in the Integrated Framework initiative, Cambodia
cannot afford to fail, and for that matter, none of us can.
In the spirit of a true Valentine's Day, I call therefore upon you, Mr. Chairman, and all the
distinguished members of this Working Party, for your loving kindness and support in facilitating and
expediting Cambodia' accession into the WTO (as what was pledged and re-pledged by your
Ministers in Doha).
We stand now ready to take your questions.
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