. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/ST/140
12 November 2001
(01-5744)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth SessionDoha, 9 – 13 November 2001Original:  French
MALI
Statement Circulated by H.E. Mrs Toure Alimata Traore
Minister of Industry, Commerce and Transport
First of all, I should like to congratulate, and above all thank, the authorities of Qatar for the
impeccable organization of this Conference, their constant readiness to help and all the facilities given
to the delegations.  My thanks also go to the Director-General of the WTO, Mr Mike Moore, and all
his team, who have done such sterling work fo r so many months to prepare this meeting.
The Ministerial Conference of the WTO is taking place in a special context, characterized
since Seattle by a crisis of confidence combined with a security crisis.  The tragic events of
11 September 2001 should incite the world as a whole to show greater solidarity among the
international community in order to meet any adve rsity from wherever it comes.  One of the major
challenges facing the international community is of course the creation of conditions for balanced and
equitable growth of the global economy.
This meeting, after the failure in Seattle, should provide an opportunity for the Member
countries of the WTO to find ways and means to ensure equitable sharing of the benefits of the
growth in trade.  Despite the declared objective of liberalizing trade and enhancing economic growth,
there are not yet any tangible results in the majority of developing countries.  For them, trade plays aleading role in socio-economic development.  In Mali, for example, the trade sector, including
services, accounts for 36 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP).  It is one of the main sources
of jobs and is thus a permanent and sustainable factor of economic growth.  Development of this
sector has been fixed as one of the priority objectives of the struggle against poverty.
Some initiatives in this respect have already been taken.  We welcome those taken by the
European Union, the United States and other partners on market access for developing countries.
For some of these measures, the implementation procedures should be simplified so that the
expected objectives can be obtained, namely, greater participation in global trade for the beneficiarycountries.
In other words, our Fourth Conference should lay down the bases for the sustainable
development of all countries, particularly the least developed.  In order to do this, we should like to
put forward recommendations concerning some of the issues to be discussed.
With regard to market access, while it is true that efforts have been made regarding duty-free
access, it is obvious that the expected results will not be obtained unless the offer exists.  The
inadequacy of the offer and its low level of diversification are a major obstacle to market access for
developing countries, especially least-developed c ountries.  The integrated framework put in place
since the Singapore Conference constitutes a response to the concerns of the least-developed
countries.  It must be recognized, however, that its implementation has been weak.  This is why MaliWT/MIN(01)/ST/140
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hopes that the present Conference will take a decision on strengthening the action provided under this
framework.
As regards agriculture, it is regrettable to see that the vast export subsidies and the domestic
support given by certain WTO Members make agricultural products from developing countriesuncompetitive.  They therefore now constitute an effective barrier to market access by developing
countries, despite the initiatives taken to facilitate access.  The development of the agricultural sector,
in which the majority of the labour force works in developing countries (in Mali, 80 per cent of the
working population) is thus jeopardized.
Concerning the TRIPS Agreement, Mali obvi ously supports research programmes aimed at
improving public health.  It is important that, in the context of poverty reduction, the Members of theWTO should reaffirm that no provision in the Agreement prevents a State from taking appropriate
measures to allow access to medicines at reasonable prices and to promote public health.  This
reaffirmation should be particularly clear and precise because, for developing countries, this is a
problem of survival for populations facing numerous epidemics such as AIDS.
We welcome the principle of special and differential treatment for least-developed countries.
In view of the mixed results of application of such treatment, the Conference should take a decision to
review this treatment and take into account the specificities of these countries.
Finally, Mali supports an open international trading system that allows all the Members of the
WTO to derive benefits from the growth in world trade.
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