WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/123
12December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5304)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
SLOVENIA
Statement byH.E. Mr.Janko Dezelak
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister forEconomic Relations andDevelopment
Slovenia appreciates thehospitality ofSingapore andthesacrifice ofitsGovernment toenable
thishistoric Conference totakeplace. Myappreciation goestotheDirector-General andtheWTO
Secretariat fortheenergy invested intosubstantial andcomplex preparations forthisgathering of
Ministers.
ThesetofAgreements andDecisions adopted atMarrakesh twoyears ago,toSlovenia and
many other smaller economies, represent much more thanacomplement ofcodes ofconduct tobe
followed andtobemonitored byMembers. They contain values tobesought andachieved intrade
andinternational economic relations. These values haveaparticular significance forcountries which
arestriving tobecome members oftheWTO. Slovenia wants toplayanactive roleinpromoting these
values.
Theprocess oftranslation ofthese values intonational lawsandregulations ofalltheWTO
Members isalongandcomplicated oneandrequires adjustments ofboththesociety andtheeconomy.
Thegreatest impact oftheUruguay Round Agreements canbeseeninthereforms taking place inthe
countries intransition andcountries acceding totheWTO. Theyarebeing driven bytheneedtocomply
withthemultilateral rules andprinciples andhavehistoric proportions. Thetasks oftheWTO and
itsMembers inimplementation oftheaccepted commitments areenormous andcomplex. They are
alsoaburden forsmall delegations anddomestic administrations andtheirresources. Slovenia would
liketoseeagreater blend ofrulesandpragmatism andeconomy inthevarious tasks andprocedures
inorder toensure smoother progress inallareas. TheWTO alsoneeds todevelop awider public
perception ofthetasks andtheroleoftheWTO.
Institutionally, great strides havebeenmade intheWTO andsome veryimportant work has
beenachieved which should betaken further, meeting newchallenges, inaWTO asanopenforum
forallissues andconcerns tobediscussed, relating tothemultilateral trading system, andasan
opportunity todealwiththese issues andconcerns. Methods ofwork intheWTO, insome areas,
aretime-consuming andnotalways fullyjustified. Incertain cases theyneedtobere-examined to
allow forbetter progress.
Increasing membership intheWTO andtheextensive listofincoming countries istestimony
toitssuccess. Thisunderscores theimportance oftheOrganization. Therapid paceofglobalization
isincreasingpressureupontheWTOtoproduceadditionalresultstoavoidrecoursetounilateralmeasures
andpressure from Members. TheWTO, inthecourse ofdevelopment ofitstasks andfuture role,
willhavetogobeyond theimmediate tradeconcerns andtakecharge ofother matters andissues which
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effect trade. InSlovenia 'sview theparticular areas ofchallenge tothemultilateral trading system
areinvestment andtrade-related aspects ofcompetition policies ofMembers. Therefore, dealing with
"new" issues would provide theWTO withnewvigour inthefollowing period.
Questions concerning regional tradearrangements arevitally important forSlovenia asasmall
economy which depends ontradeandforeign economic relations. Regional integration andexpansion
oftradeonthebasisofsuchintegration isaneconomic prerogative forSlovenia. Furthermore, Slovenia
believes thatregional integrations canbetter achieve thegoals ofsustainable development. Monitoring
ofregional trade arrangements isnecessary forreasons oftransparency andnon-discrimination.
TheGovernment ofSlovenia isstrongly committed toeffective implementation ofthe
WTO Agreements asafirstpriority. Onlythiscanbethebasisforconfidence-building intheWTO.
Closely linked withfurther growth andexpansion oftradeisthesimplification oftime-consuming and
unpredictable trade procedures. Trade andinvestment arealsoclosely linked. Progressive andopen
discussions inthese andother areas, suchastrade andenvironment, labour issues, maybenefit all.
Inconclusion, Slovenia iscommitted toastrong anddecisive roleoftheWTO, which this
Conference will,nodoubt, endorse.