WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/ST/81
11 November 2001
(01-5677)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth SessionDoha, 9 - 13 November 2001Original:  English
KENYA
Statement by the Honourable Kipyator N.K. Biwott, Egh, MP
Minister for Trade and Industry
I would like to join previous speakers in ex pressing our sincere appreciation to His Highness
the Emir and the people of Qatar for the warm welcome we have received since our arrival;  and the
excellent facilities put at our disposal.
On behalf of His Excellency President Daniel  Arap Moi and the people of Kenya and indeed
on my own behalf I congratulate the People's Republic of China on their accession to the WTO.
Indeed their entry into the WTO will strengthen th e central role of the multilateral trading system in
which trading rules provide the only assurance to an equitable trading arrangement.
May I also commend the Chairman and the Director-General for the manner in which they
have managed the proceedings.  In addition I commend the preparations made in Geneva, which
culminated in the production of the Draft Text Declaration.
There is no doubt that differences exist in positions which have not been captured in the Draft
Declaration and the positions taken by the African Group, the ACP and LDC through whom our
issues are harmonized.  I believe that this forum should in the end succeed in arriving at acceptable
compromises, which will allow the Doha Conference to succeed.  We cannot afford another Seattlefailure.  We have faith and are fully committed to the WTO multilateral trading system, which should
be fair, predictable and inclusive.  We will work with the Chair and the friends of the Chair to ensure
a successful conclusion of the Doha Conference.
My delegation would like to propose that this Ministerial Conference critically address the
following issues:
• WTO waiver for the Cotonou partnership;
• the mandated negotiations;
• the TRIPS and public health/access to medicines;  and
• other elements of the on-going work programme.
The WTO waiver is critical for the ACP countries to remain pro-actively engaged in the
global trade.  We reaffirm that trade preferences have a role in the development of all our States.
Failure in granting the waiver will erode our faith and commitment to the WTO system.  The
preferences including the ACP/EU Waiver can only be meaningful with a positive and effectiveimpact if bound in the multilateral trading system.WT/MIN(01)/ST/81
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Trips and public health
We believe in the benefits of intellectual property protection.  Such a regime should equitably
cover both the owners and users of technology.  In addition, intellectual property promotion should
encourage innovation and technological development in a manner that is supportive of public healthincluding the transfer of technology.
S&D
It is our view that special and differential treatment for developing countries is a core
principle of the WTO and should therefore be binding and be incorporated into the architecture of
future WTO agreements and rules.
New issues
On the Singapore issues, we reaffirm that ACP States are not prepared, at this time, to engage
in negotiations.  We call for the establishment of working groups to study these issues and haveproposed language to that effect.
I hasten to add that if we are to benefit from multilateral trading system then it is necessary
that one system is applicable to all with an inbu ilt Special & Differential principle to cater for the
vulnerable and marginalized groups such as the ACP and the LDC Members.
For the future success of the efforts of the multilateral systems and institutions, there will be
need for coherence in policy formulation, pronouncement and implementation.
Development box
We continue to emphasize that the WTO should give priority to developmental trade aspects
within its inbuilt agenda. For instance in agriculture negotiations the ACP States supports the
establishment of a "Development box" that would pr ovide them with enough flexibility to address
non-trade concerns such as food security, sustainable development, rural livelihoods and poverty
alleviation among others.
My delegation and indeed the ACP Members acknowledge the need to keep pace with the
fast-growing and changing developments and economic activities in international trade.  We therefore
requires technical and financial assistance in orde r to fully integrate into the multilateral trading
system;  bridge the economic gap and improve our standing in the global market-place.
It is in this regard that technical assistance and capacity building in developing countries
should be revamped and enhanced within the regular budget of the WTO.
In particular, assistance should be directed towards addressing our supply constraints and the
stringent standards in our target markets.  We wish to appreciate the efforts of the Director-General in
this regard.
The concrete and specific demands that the developing countries have collectively and
individually made for correcting the current imbalances of the Uruguay round should be given special
attention and brought on board in the Ministerial Declaration in order to forge a strong and unifiedWorld Trade Organization.WT/MIN(01)/ST/81
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It is therefore my hope that we will come up with a road map on how to handle those
concerns by the end of this Conference.
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