. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(03)/ST/104
12 September 2003
(03-4887)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth Session
Cancún, 10 - 14 September 2003Original:  English
MALTA
Statement by the Honourable Edwin Vassallo
Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry  of Finance and Economic Affairs
I would like to start this brief intervention by expressing our appreciation to the Government of
Mexico for hosting this Fifth Session of the Minist erial Conference.  We wish to thank our hosts for
their warm welcome as well as for the efficient organization of the proceedings of the Conference.
As I am sure you all agree, the whole world is following our debates and waiting for positive
developments.  What is decided will have an impact on the lives of people all around the globe.  This
is particularly relevant in an increasingly integrated international economy in which most countries
now participate.  We concur with the view that the Doha Development Agenda, with its extensive
agenda, has the potential to boost global trade and growth.  Consequently, the material well-being
of millions of people, the further development of their quality of life and the creation of new job
opportunities can be brought about by an increase in global trade activity.
Malta, being a small, open economy and one which has participated in the international trading
system for a very long time, is well aware of the advantages of a positive conclusion to the
DDA.  May I take this opportunity to emphasize that Malta is a strong believer in the gradual yetsustained move towards the liberalization of internati onal trade.  However, I be lieve that efforts towards
further liberalization of trade should be complemented by the strengthening of global regulations for
fair world trading.  This would ensure the achieveme nt of a level playing field in international trade.
In line with these beliefs, the ongoing negotiations in  this area should be as comprehensive as possible
especially in the light of the important role this plays in the strengthening of global economicactivity.
With regards to services, Malta is fully aware of the increasing contribution this sector is
providing to global economic activity.  Being a services-oriented ec onomy itself, Malta thus
supports initiatives to further develop this area whilst at the same time, providing countries with everyopportunity to implement effective regulation in order to attain their respective domestic
socio-economic objectives.
With respect to agriculture, I also would lik e to stress that we believe that any trade
liberalization attempts for this sector should be fa ir and orderly and should allow scope for the provision
of the necessary financial assistance to operators in th is field to effectively restructure.  We also want to
reiterate our belief that agriculture has special features given the important contribution which it
provides to socio-economic structures and development.  We therefore continue to s upport a
multifunctional approach to negotiations in this sector , one which takes full consideration of issues such
as rural development, environmental protection and animal welfare.
In the area of trade in non-agricultural products Malta favours greater liberalization and a
formula-based approach.WT/MIN(03)/ST/104
Page 2
I would also like to emphasize the fact that Malta fully supports negotiations on rules in the
areas of investment, competition, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement.
We strongly believe that the introduction of rules in these areas would serve to strengthen the overall
framework of the international trading system by facilitating the flow of investment, an importantgenerator of economic growth, as well as creating additional trade opportunities.
In view of Malta's accession to the European Union and in line with our objectives to
increase national trade competitiveness, I would also  like to point out that Malta has embarked upon a
process to achieve a higher level of trade facilitation which includes the reduction of unnecessary
bureaucracy.
The successful conclusion to this Round forms part of Malta's agenda to enhance trade
competitiveness within a context of  increasing global economic activity.
Finally, I would like to congratulate the new Member States for their accession to the WTO.
We view this development as serving to further st rengthen the international trading system and to
distribute in an even fashion the benefits which are generated.
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