. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/ST/32
10 November 2001
(01-5607)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth Session
Doha, 9 - 13 November 2001Original:  English
NORWAY
Statement by H.E. Mr Jan Petersen
Minister of Foreign Affairs
I would like to join other delegations in congratulating you upon your election as Chairman of
the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference.  You can count on Norway's full support.
I would also like to extend our warmest thanks to the Government and the people of Qatar for
hosting the Conference, and for their warm and hospitable reception.
The terrorist attacks on 11 September were not only directed at innocent people, but also at
fundamental democratic values and our open economies.
But the terrorists must not be allowed to prevail.We must join forces to secure economic growth  and development in all nations – not least in
the developing countries.  A strong and fair multilateral trading system has a crucial role to play in our
efforts towards this goal.
Ambitious negotiations aimed at further liberalization, strengthening and development of the
multilateral trading system are of paramount importance.  This is why we need to launch a new round
here in Doha.
Norway has a number of priorities and goals for our future negotiations.The round should have a clear development profile.  The concerns and demands of the
developing countries, and in particular the least developed, should be at the heart of our work. The
proposed package on implementation issues must be adopted, and outstanding implementation
proposals must be part of the future negotiations.
Trade liberalization is the core activity of the multilateral trading system.  We must accelerate
tariff cuts in all areas.  Norway has decided to give the least-developed countries tariff and quota free
access for all products.  In dealing with non-agricultural products particular attention must be paid to
tariff peaks and tariff escalation.
The Uruguay Round expanded vastly the rules gove rning international trade.  We now need to
review and improve some of these rules, in particular the Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Agreements.
Norway remains committed to the long-term refo rm process as set out in the Agreement on
Agriculture.  Due account must be paid to non-trade concerns.  The agricultural trading system must
allow every Member, irrespective of climatic conditions, to maintain a viable agricultural sector.WT/MIN(01)/ST/32
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The negotiations in services must secure further liberalization.  Our priorities are maritime
transport, telecommunications, energy and financial services.  The right of Members to regulate the
supply of services should be confirmed.
Sustainable development is an important object ive of the WTO Agreement.  This should be
reflected in all relevant areas of ongoing and future negotiations.  Specific environmental issues
should be included in our work programme.
Disciplines regulating trade and investment and trade and competition policies are needed to
further improve the trading system.
The Ministerial Declaration must include a reference to the international efforts to secure core
labour standards.  The work in the Internati onal Labour Organization (ILO) would benefit from
cooperation with other intergovernmental organizations, including the WTO.
We must adopt a strong declaration on intellectual property and public health, including
access to affordable medicines for all, and the need for flexible interpretation of the TRIPS
Agreement.  This will be an important contributi on to the wider national and international action in
this area, in particular the fight against public health crises such as HIV/AIDS and other pandemics.
We plan to increase further our contributions to technical assistance activities in a new round
of negotiations.  The work programme calls for substantial growth in technical assistance.  This doesnot only require additional funding on a voluntary basis, but also greater predictability, which can
only be achieved by channeling a substantial part of the funding through the regular budget.
The completion of the accession process for the People's Republic of China and Chinese
Taipei represents a major achievement which we warmly welcome.  We trust that the negotiations onthe 28 applications still outstanding will be brought to a successful end as soon as possible.
Much is at stake. If we fail to reach agreement at this Conference, we risk undermining the
entire multilateral trading system.  That would benefit no one.  We must all be willing to demonstrate
the necessary political will and flexibility to make this Conference a success.
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