. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(03)/ST/72/Rev.1
14 September 2003
(03-4945)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth Session
Cancún, 10 - 14 September 2003Original:  English
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Statement by the Honourable Allan Savenat Mesak Marat
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry
Revision
I wish first of all to express deep appreciation on behalf of my delegation, to the people and
the Government of Mexico for the hospitality extended to us here in Cancún.  It is just under two
years since the last Ministerial Conference in Doha where members of the organization adopted the
Declaration setting out commitments in various areas of the current trade negotiations.  Of particular
importance is the recognition that development concerns need to be given due consideration in the
negotiations.
I wish to reiterate at the outset the message by President Fox of Mexico and the
Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, that what we want to achieve here is more
about development and poverty reduction, and less on trade liberalization.  Trade must not be seen as
an end in itself but a means towards raising the economic as well as social welfare of our peoples.  We
also fully support the ACP common position for Cancún, adopted by the ACP Trade Ministers in
August 2003 in Brussels.
Firstly, in the market access negotiations, we are particularly concerned with agriculture.  We
support calls for removal of non-tariff barriers, reduction of high tariffs and subsidies by developed
countries, while providing developing countries with special and differential treatment in terms of
particular products, compensation for the erosion of preferences and special safeguard mechanisms.
In industrial tariffs, Papua New Guinea has unilaterally liberalized significantly and needs to
be compensated.  Here, the principle of "less than full reciprocity" must be honoured.  Furthermore,
Papua New Guinea welcomes the initiative of New Zealand and Canada to liberalize the forestry and
fisheries sectors.
I now wish to share some of our experiences in our efforts to liberalize.  Since last year, we
experienced revenue losses to the tune of around US$220 million - a sizable amount for a small
vulnerable economy.  Moreover, since independence, Papua New Guinea's efforts to downstream
process its natural resources and improve its manufacturing base have been stifled by lack oftechnology transfer from developed countries.
The Doha Declaration agrees to place the needs and interests of developing countries at its
heart.  This noble principle must be reflected in the modalities and results of the negotiations.
Clearly, development issues must be given priority.  A substantial package of economically
meaningful special and differential treatment provisions must be adopted, going beyond the existing
proposals.WT/MIN(03)/ST/72/Rev.1
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We must not leave Cancún without agreement on resolving implementation issues.  For
Papua New Guinea, a particular concern in this regard is the cost of implementation given that our
limited financial resources are earmarked for the development of our social and education sectors and
trade is not a priority.  Appropriate consideration by our development partners would be helpful in
this regard.
Papua New Guinea is appreciative of the support given by Members on the Small Economies
Work Programme.  It reaffirms that this organization is concerned on the particular difficulties and
constraints faced by the small vulnerable economies such as mine, in the multilateral trading system.
We also appreciate the assistance of organizations like the Commonwealth Secretariat, the
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the CARICOM and the Indian Ocean Commission for their efforts
in pursuing the interests of the small vulnerable economies.
However, we are disappointed that little progress has been made on the issues of concern to
small vulnerable economies and call on the Cancún Ministerial Conference to take decisions to solve
our trade problems and to ensure our effective participation and fuller integration into the multilateral
trading system in a manner that promotes our development.
Papua New Guinea calls on the WTO Members to therefore give renewed political impetus
by taking necessary decisions in this Conference.  In this juncture, PNG wishes to support the
statement made yesterday by the Honourable Mini ster of Botswana representing the ACP Countries
and the statement to be made this afternoon by the Honourable Minister of Fiji on behalf of the smallvulnerable economies.
In regard to TRIPS and Public Health, Papua New Guinea welcomes the agreement adopted
by the General Council and commends all Members for their efforts in reaching that agreement which
will give hope to some developing countries that are affected by some of the world's worst epidemics.
In Services, Papua New Guinea supports further liberalization in sectors that are of interest to
developing countries including GATS Mode 4 on temporary movement of natural persons.
My Government's decision to participate in the global economy and the trading system is
evidenced by the introduction of the Export Driven Economic Recovery and Development Strategy as
well as the formulation of a new Trade Policy.  In this connection, Papua New Guinea appreciates theassistance of international organizations such as UNCTAD, the Pacific Islands Forum and others in
the formulation of such a policy to strengthen this Export Driven Strategy.
In conclusion, these developments on tariff reduction, market liberalization, and trade policy
formulation are measures not taken in isolation, bu t are an integral part of the social and economic
objectives enshrined in the National Goals and Directive Principles in the Constitution of Papua New
Guinea.
Unlevel trade playing fields and diversity of thoughts on trade issues we are discussing now
in Cancún inevitably demands transparent, truthful and balanced contributions and commitment forhumanity's sake.  Cancún must make constructive progress in actual poverty alleviation tomorrow.
I thank you.
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