WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/73
11December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5248)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
EGYPT
Statement byH.E. Dr.Ahmed Goueli
Minister ofTrade andSupply
Attheoutset, Iwould liketoexpress mythanks andappreciation totheGovernment andpeople
ofSingapore fortheirgenerous hospitality andfortheexcellent facilities provided tousandtheWTO
Ministerial Conference; thefirstconvened sincetheentry intoforce oftheWorld Trade Organization
inJanuary 1995.
Wecame toSingapore withanopenmind, hoping thatthisdistinguished Conference shallbe
successful andwillreach balanced conclusions thatcancontribute tothewelfare andprosperity ofthe
world.
ItisamatteroffundamentalimportancetoensurethecredibilityofourOrganizationbyfostering
theimplementation intheWTO Agreements andencouraging theMembers toabide bytheirrulesand
commitments.
Forthatsake, thisMinisterial Conference isdevoted primarily toreview theimplementation
oftheUruguay Round Agreements, including theproblems which have arisen intheprocess of
implementation, particularly those affecting theinterest ofdeveloping countries.
Thisisthefirstopportunity forusforthestocktaking andreviewing oftheactivities ofthe
World Trade Organization during thelast24months, andtodecide thefuture work ofthisOrganization
fortheyears tocome.
Since wesigned theFinal Actembodying theAgreements oftheUruguay Round, mostofthe
developing countries including Egypt were exerting utmost effort toimplement alltheirobligations
derived from those Agreements.
Intheprocess ofimplementation, Egypt aswellasother developing countries encountered
difficulties. Toillustrate that,Iwould liketorefertotwoexamples:
First: TheMinisterial Decision onmeasures concerning thepossible negative effects ofthe
reform programme onleastdeveloped countries andnetfood-importing developing countries. We
spent twoyears debating anddeliberating onhowtoimplement theprovisions ofthesaidMinisterial
Decision withlimited success, inaddition totheobstacles thatwereputahead toprove therealreason
behind theincrease intheprices ofimported food.
Second: TheTRIPS Agreement appeared tobeoneofthemost difficult challenges tothe
Egyptian economy. Despite thisfactweproceeded withitsimplementation inaccordance withthe
terms agreed upon inMarrakesh.WT/MIN(96)/ST/73
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However, wearestilllooking toreceive thefinancial andtechnical assistance asprovided for
intheTRIPS Agreement asanimportant element ofbalance.
Thebalance wehavenegotiated intheUruguay Round isdelicate. Itcould easily bedisturbed
bythemisuse ofrights under thedifferent instruments. Inparticular, intheareas ofanti-dumping
andsanitary andphytosanitary measures, wehavewitnessed suchamisuse ofrights. Thedisturbing
effect ontradeflows insuchareas could beofserious consequence toadeveloping country likeEgypt.
Asfarasthenewissues areconcerned, weshare theviews regarding theimportance ofthese
issues. However, webelieve thatitisnecessary tofirstthoroughly examine, analyse, review, and
build consensus onthese issues. Thisrevision should bebased ontheirtrade relatedness, andthe
appropriateness oftheWTO asaforum ofdiscussion, taking intoconsideration thelimitation ofboth
theWTO 'sfinancial resources andthecapacity ofdelegations ofcover therequirements oftheproposed
newcommitments.
Inthiscontext, wewould liketoreaffirm ourposition declared byPresident Mubarak ofEgypt
inhisstatement before theG-15 Summit inHarare lastNovember which wasreflected inits"joint
communiqué".
With regard totheissue ofinvestment, Egypt looks upon foreign direct investment asavital
andimportant element thatshares intheachievement oftheobjectives ofdevelopment andgrowth.
Inthisareaofdiscussion wewould liketoassure thatweencourage (FDI) through asetofincentives,
privileges andguarantees.
Furthermore, wereaffirm theconclusion oftheUNCTAD IXwhich stated thatathorough
examination andanalysis should beperformed inUNCTAD, which canbeconsidered asabasis for
theWTO future work.
Concerning theissue ofcompetition policies, itisconsidered asaveryimportant element of
ourfuture work asstipulated intheTRIMS Agreement which should bereviewed intheyear2000.
Inthisregard weacknowledge theimportance ofthework donebyUNCTAD which should continue,
including addressing theissueofRestrictive Business Practices (RBPs), untiltheconsideration ofthis
subject matter intheyear2000within theframework ofthebuilt-in agenda intheTRIMS Agreement.
Asconcerns thequestion oftherelationship between tradeandlabour standards, werecognize
theimportance oftheissueofcorelabour standards. However, webelieve thatthisissueclearly falls
within themandate andspecific competence oftheInternational Labour Organization, andwestress
itsfundamental andessential roleinthisrespect.
There remain twoimportant issues ofgreat importance forthefuture work oftheWTO:
Firstly:Therelationshipbetweentheconceptofmultilateralismandtheincreasingtrendtowards
regionalism.Webelievethatthecredibilityoftherule-based,predictable,non-discriminatorymultilateral
trading system should notonlybethemainobjective oftheWTO butitshould alsobesupported and
enhanced byregional economic integration. Thelatter mustbestreamlined toensure thefulfilment
ofthisobjective inthecasewhere itshows tobeofnecessity.
Secondly: Inorder toserve theissueoftheuniversality oftheWorld Trade Organization and
accelerate thereaching ofthisgoal, weconfirm theimportance offacilitating andimproving the
procedures ofaccession, theachievement ofwhich could enhance theroleofdeveloping countries within
theinternational trading system. Inthisregard, technical assistance should begiven upon request to
countries concerned toensure asmooth process oftheirintegration inthemultilateral trading system.WT/MIN(96)/ST/73
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Finally, Iwould liketoconclude thatourshort stayinSingapore should bedevoted tosincere
work andcooperation soastoreach abalanced Declaration andamutually acceptable agenda forthe
future work oftheWorld Trade Organization.
Wewould liketoexpress ourappreciation andsupport totheroleoftheWorld Trade
Organization under thecapable management ofMr.Ruggiero andhisstaff, Egypt confirms itssincere
cooperation withtheWTO asafundamental guarantor ofthemultilateral trading system.
With highhopes andexpectations allow metoextend toYour Excellencies myappreciation,
wishing thatourmeeting willleadtosuccessful results.