. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(99)/ST/52
1 December 1999
(99-5272)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Third SessionSeattle, 30 November - 3 December 1999Original:  English
BAHRAIN
Statement by H.E. Mr. Ali Saleh Al-Saleh
Minister of Commerce
On behalf of the Government of Bahrain I would like to begin by thanking the Government
and people of the United States, the State of Washington and the city of Seattle for their warm
hospitality and efficient organization.  I congratulate Ms. Barshefsky on her election as Chairperson to
our Ministerial Meeting, and also the Vice Chairmen of this meeting.  I also take this opportunity to
congratulate Mr. Mike Moore on his appointment as Director-General of the WTO, and to wish him
every success in the next three years and to thank the Chairman and Members of the General Council
and Secretariat of the WTO for their diligent preparations for this Ministerial Conference.
This final WTO Ministerial Conference of the century faces many challenges;  it is the hope
of the State of Bahrain that the Conference will initiate a work-programme, which rises to thesechallenges, and I would like to briefly highlight some particular issues Bahrain would like to see
addressed.
One very real threat to international economic development, and one which is of particular
concern to small States such as my own country, is the danger of exclusion or economic
marginalization.  It is the duty of all Members to remain vigilant and to take positive steps to ensure
that developing countries, and in particular the least developed among them, benefit from an equitableshare in the growth in internatio nal trade and retain the discretion to liberalize their economies at a
rate in line with their development needs.
Another challenge we face is that of consolidating the gains of the past.  I believe that in
tandem with efforts to build upon the Uruguay platform , it is essential that a comprehensive review is
undertaken of implementation to date.  As part of such review it is essential that developing countries
are, where necessary, granted extensions to transitional periods , both to allow sufficient time for
these countries to comply with the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements and to avoid a
situation where a considerable number of WTO Members are, technically, in breach of the
Agreements.
A more flexible approach to transition periods is one of the available methods of granting
special and preferential treatment to developing Member States to encourage full implementation
and participation.
Bahrain believes that the principle of special and preferential treatment is an important
cornerstone of the global trading regime and would like to see its application reviewed and
strengthened in the forthcoming negotiations.  With  regard to the proposed reforms in the trade in
agricultural products, it is imperative that the Decision on Measures Concerning Possible Negative
Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-importing Developing
Countries  is fully implemented, in particular the clause relating to the provision of technical and
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The TRIMs Agreement should be modified to provide developing countries another
opportunity to notify existing TRIMs measures and to maintain these measures, as their development
needs demand.  It is the view of Bahrain that the Working Groups on Investment and Competition
Policy established by the Singapore Ministerial Declarations should continue working under theirpresent mandates and report to the next Ministerial Conference.
Concerning the labour standards, we believe that the International Labour Organization (ILO)
is the correct venue for labour issues, as was agreed at the first Ministerial Meeting held in Singapore
in 1996.
On the question of environment, the State of Bahrain considers that the Committee on Trade
and Environment should give further consideration to these issues, and environment measures should
not be used as obstacles to prevent the products of developing and least developed countries gaining
free access to the markets of developed countries.
Given the substantial value of international commercial activity that involves government
procurement , negotiations should be initiated to build upon the work of the Working Group on
Transparency in Government Procurement.  However, this Agreement should not prevent parties from
applying their existing national policies and domestic procurement procedures.
From a practical perspective, the issue of trade facilitation remains of vital importance and
we must continue to work towards the establishment of disciplines and guidelines for simplification
and harmonization of international trade procedures .  Throughout this process particular emphasis
should be placed on the provision of technical assistance and capacity building for developing
Members.
The next point I would like to raise relates to the astonishing speed at which developments are
taking place in the field of electronic commerce .  The work of the General Council on this subject
must continue apace and should be guided by two important principles, first, that the current practice
of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions should be maintained, and secondly, that
technical assistance should be provided by developed Members to facilitate training and the
development of electronic infrastructure in developing Member countries.
The final issue I would like to raise relates to the process of accession .  Accession remains
arduous, both in terms of its procedural requirements and its duration.  Consideration should be given
to streamlining the accession process, particularly for developing countries.  In addition, countries
seeking to accede to the WTO, again particularly developing countries, and least developed countries,
should not be forced to make commitments over and above those required by the Uruguay RoundAgreements.  These issues are of particular relevance in our own region at present as the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman and some other Arab countries negotiate the obstacles of
accession.  We fully support them, and urge other Member States to support them also and ease their
accession.
Finally, I would like, on behalf of my Government, to endorse the launching of a new round
of trade negotiations governed by the principles of transparency, inclusiveness, preferential treatment,
and effective participation by all, including those countries in the process of acceding to the WTO.
It remains only for me to wish all of you the very best in the forthcoming negotiations, and to
express the hope that together we may build on the achievements of the past, and work towards the
development of an international trading system which guarantees equitable benefits for all peoples.
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