./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/ST/51
11 November 2001
(01-5633)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth Session
Doha, 9 - 13 November 2001Original:  English
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
Statement by the Honourable Pehin Dato Abdul Rahman Taib
Minister for Industry and Primary Resources
At the outset, I would like to thank you, the Government and people of Qatar for the
hospitality accorded to my delegation and I, and for the arrangements made for this very important
meeting.
Allow me also to take the opportunity to welcome the accession to the WTO of the People's
Republic of China.  We also look forward to the accession of the Separate Customs Territory of
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu this afternoon.  We believe these are positive steps in making our
Organization a truly global one.  It should also serve as a reminder of the value that these economiesand the 28 others seeking admission, attach to the Organization's relevance and importance in their
respective processes of integration into the world economy.  Our hope is that the greater predictability
from membership in this rules-based Organization will benefit both the acceding economies as well as
the existing Members.
I would like to begin by reaffirming Brunei Darussalam's strong support for an open and
rules-based multilateral trading system.  More impor tantly, I want to reiterate our commitment to the
launch of a new round of multilateral trade negotiations.  The pursuit of higher standards of living and
full employment, through amongst others, increased trade flows, has taken on greater urgency in the
global economic slowdown.
At a difficult time like this, a successful conclusion of this Conference would indeed help
boost business confidence and very much enhance the chance for a speedy recovery.  I know the
stakes are now higher for developed and developing countries alike, but so is the price of failure.
I would therefore join you, Mr Chairman, in your call on all of us to demonstrate the
necessary political will and flexibility, to be pragmatic and realistic, so as to ensure that we will notrepeat what happened in Seattle.
We wish to commend the good preparatory work that has been undertaken in Geneva under
the leadership of both the Chairman of the Gene ral Council and the Director-General.  In the coming
few days, we should focus our attention on resolving the remaining difficult issues.
For a start, we should agree that future negotiations and their outcomes should contribute to
economic and social progress in all Members, particularly the developing countries, including smaller
ones, which are encountering real difficulties in the implementation of the Uruguay Round
Agreements.  For many, the promised benefits to economic growth and development have not fully
materialized.WT/MIN(01)/ST/51
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The Preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement recognizes that there is need for positive efforts
designed to ensure that developing countries secure a share of international trade.  We strongly
believe that the best way to do this is through the provision of greater focus on and specificity in the
provisions for special and differential treatment, as well as enhanced and stronger support for capacity
building and technical cooperation.  In supporting the proposed Framework Agreement on Specialand Differential Treatment, we are of the view that one effective means to enhance confidence in the
system, especially among the developing countries, is S&D provisions that are legally binding,
operationalizable and enforceable.
On the so-called Singapore issues, Brunei Darussalam continues to believe that the
exploratory work on competition policy, transparency in government procurement and trade
facilitation should be continued.  I am fully aware that the proponents of these issues wantnegotiations to start as soon as possible.  While we are not rejecting the idea outright, like many
others, we need more time to study the issues and their far-reaching implications on our domestic
situation and development policies.  We want to be absolutely convinced that in committing to any
negotiations on these areas, developing countries like ours can benefit from the outcomes.
With regard to the environment and sustainable development, we fully agree with the
objectives stated in the Preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement.  Whilst appreciating the political need
of some members to expand the scope and start negotiations on issues such as precautionary
principles and eco-labelling, we also recognize that there are many delegations still wary that this may
prove to be one slippery road to a protectionist end.  We honestly believe that, under the presentcircumstances, the present language in the Chairman of the General Council's text does offer the best
possible compromise.
We would like to stress that internal transparency within the WTO is imperative, if the
meaningful participation of all Members, small and large, developing and developed, is to befacilitated.  In dealing with the overall conduct of the negotiations in the post-Doha period, we must
bear in mind the limited capacity of many smaller delegations.  The proper design of the mechanism
to handle future negotiations is therefore important to us, because our already over-stretched resources
just simply cannot keep pace with and effectively participate in negotiations on too many fronts, all at
the same time.
Let me conclude by once again calling upon all WTO Members to take fully into account the
interests and concerns of developing countries, especially the least-developed ones, in the future work
programme and negotiations.  If we want our meeting to succeed and our Organization to come out
stronger a few years down the road, lets make this  new round truly a "Development Round" that won't
just promise, but also deliver real and tangible benefits to its developing Members.
I wish you well in your charge of such a huge responsibility to deliver the outcome that's
expected of us by the millions that we represent.
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