WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(98)/ST/99
20 May1998
(98-2177)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session,
Geneva, 18 and 20 May 1998Original:  French
TUNISIA
Statement Circulated by H.E. Mr. Mondler Zenaïdi,
Minister of Trade
Let me begin by paying tribute to Switzerland for the hospitality extended to us and for the
impeccable arrangements made for this meeting.
I also take pleasure in expressing my acknowledgement to the Director-General and all his
colleagues for their selflessness and professionalism.  The achievements of the WTO are in large
measure attributable to them.
We are here today to underscore our unflagging commitment to the multilateral trading
system.  All the nations, irrespective of their development level, have come to this Conference in
Geneva – the birthplace of countless agreements and conventions – with their convictions and
uncertainties.  Their intention is to reinforce the structure of the WTO and equip it to approach the
next millennium as a veritable bastion of stable, open and thriving world trade.
The observance of this Anniversary means neither complacency, nor evading the
complexities, nor concealing the challenges.  Our belief in the multilateral trading system does notmean that we will not make critical observations.
At this stage in the life of the WTO, there is increasing agreement that the dividends of trade
liberalization are not being equitably distributed.  Developing countries in general and the LDCs in
particular which, in addition to the already existing structural problems, must now grapple with a direeconomic situation, are hoping for treatment that is in line with their development levels, their
strategic priorities and their specific needs.
The ongoing liberalization processes, over and above their high social price, call for a much
fairer and more balanced trading system.  The contribution of the WTO should meet these aspirationsand favour a global and integrated approach to the challenges so as to reduce the gaps and disparities
and hence the potential for conflict situations.
An approach of that kind would ensure some balance between the development objectives and
the constraints induced by globalization.
The contractual nature of the WTO presupposes a balance of interest, consistency of
commitments and harmonization of objectives regardless of the stakes involved.  In strengthening the
multilateral trading system the development dimension must be a cornerstone, not a stumbling block.
The problems bound up with the implementation of WTO Agreements require closer attention
and a vision that is more attuned to reality.  The provision on special and differential treatment, aWT/MIN(98)/ST/99
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preferential mechanism accorded to the developing countries, has proved inadequate and should be
revised, becoming one of the principal yardsticks of implementation.
I should also like to underscore the need for the full application of the Agreements and
decisions in favour of developing countries, in particular, the decision concerning the net food-importing countries.
The principles of objectivity and fairness will earn the WTO even greater attention and
credibility in world public opinion, at which a majo r information campaign should be directed, as the
Director-General said this morning.
Special emphasis should be placed on the problems of implementation and the structural
constraints often hampering the readjustment process.  It is well to restate that political commitment
can in no case be dispensed with, through we must admit that it is not always easy to rise to the
challenges of economic integration.  There must be some acknowledgement of the sacrifices made.
Under the enlightened leadership of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia is today more
confident then ever in the multilateral trading system  and is engaged in an irreversible integration and
restructuring process at all levels and in all sectors.
In reaffirming its attachment to the trading system, Tunisia believes that the process of
implementation of WTO Agreements is a long-term one that should be approached with resolve,though without comprising the social balances or the political stability that have been forged in
modern Tunisia.  Implementation is difficult, but it is our choice and we must be determined to see
this process through, regardless of the problems that may arise.
I now turn to the subject of the future work of the Organization.  While reaffirming the
importance and the interest that we ascribe to impl ementation and to the related tasks entrusted to the
General Council, I submit that we should be lookin g towards the future and to the prospects opening
up before us on the threshold of the 21
st century.  We should be looking ahead to the stakes and the
challenges that will stem from the economic and technological transformations now under way.
In drawing up the future WTO work programme, it is important to take account of the wide
range of approaches and the large number of priorities.  A multiplicity of sometimes controversialconsiderations are attendant upon the notion of future work.  Our conference must set the tone and the
guidelines in that regard.
We are deeply convinced that the WTO has a major asset, namely, its track record and its
ability to look towards the future.  We owe it to ours elves to stay this course, as we are all engaged in
a common endeavour.
Tunisia hopes, in that connection, that this Conference will produce a forward-looking vision
that makes allowance for a balance of interests and specific priorities, as well as set of guidelines with
which every country can identify.
This is why we believe that the draft declaration placed before us by the General Council
reflects the balance we are striving after.  On that account I must again pay tribute to the
Director-General and to the Chairman of the General Council for their part in producing a document
that is responsive to the concerns of all, without prejudging any decisions that may be reached at thethird Conference.
Above and beyond the stakes and the strategies, the future is common to us all, and this
makes a collective and orderly mobilization indispensable.  We need a joint vision that will enable theWT/MIN(98)/ST/99
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WTO to make headway and to structure its future activities along well-defined lines that are
acceptable to all.  This future course leaves no room for lack of focus in our objectives or for tests of
strength.
The WTO should thus be in a position to meet the targets of the built-in agenda.  The proposal
for further subjects is no doubt acceptable in principle, but will call for prior agreement by everyone.
The spirit of compromise must always prevail.
Allow me to single out two elements in this regard, namely the balance of interests and the
rule of consensus, which we consider to be of fundamental importance if we are to approach the
future with the best chance of success.
These are two highly unifying elements without which the forthcoming negotiations will not
be altogether conclusive, irrespective of the context, aim and time-frame chosen, with the inevitable
negative consequences for the multilateral trading system.
The array of multilateral agreements will be of no avail in furthering the cause of the WTO or
improving its public image.  We are determined to work together with all Members so that the WTO
may reflect the interests of all countries, developed and developing alike.
Although my country favours a global negotiating approach, we believe that the question of
the status of the forthcoming negotiations, being the focus of a range of preoccupations and countlessdebates, should neither divert our attention from the real objectives nor pre-empt the actual
negotiations themselves.  A distinction must be drawn between the essential and the incidental.
As we would like the WTO to be forward-looking, it is our collective duty to ensure its
successful entry into the third millennium.  This is both our choice and our responsibility.
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