. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/ST/136
12 November 2001
(01-5733)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth SessionDoha, 9 - 13 November 2001Original:  English
MOLDOVA
Statement Circulated by H.E. Mr Marian Lupu
Deputy Minister of Economy
It is a great pleasure to be here today in this crucial time for the WTO and for the international
community.
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, I have the honour to express my
most sincere congratulations for the organization and holding of the fourth WTO MinisterialConference held in Doha.  It is the first time that my country,  which  recently joined the WTO,
participates in a Ministerial Conference as a member State.  The WTO is an organization, which has
worked to expand world trade and to promote economic development with the aim of increasing the
living standards of the people around the world.
We are confident that the development of multilateral trading will contribute to the well-being
of citizens of all member Sates and will play a major and fundamental role in their economic success
and development.  Moldova would like to consolidate its role in this process.
In this context, we fully support the launching of a new round of negotiations in trade and
support the draft Ministerial Declaration as a basis for this negotiation transmitted by the
Director-General and the Chairman of the General Council.  The new round meets the interests andobjectives of the Republic of Moldova and now we must adopt decisions not only in order to preserve
the multilateral trading system but also to ensure economic development and growth in the new
millennium.  We also believe that the full implementation of the existing WTO Agreements have to
be accorded a core role.
The Government of Moldova has adopted and is implementing currently a major programme
of reforms for the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy, based on liberalized and
well-regulated commercial policy.  Moldova has an open economy, liberalized trade and no export
subsidies.  Currently its exports and imports, for geographical and historical reasons, are very much
dependent on traditional markets. As a Member we  hope that Moldova will diversify its commercial
and economic relations, increasing the investments fl ow, for a wider and deeper integration into the
world economy.
Our major interests in the new round of negotiations are focused on agriculture, which plays a
major role in Moldova's economy.  According to World Bank statistics its share in GDP is 25 percent, accounting for more than 60 per cent of overall employment.  We hope that the results of the
negotiations will lead to the significant liberalization of trade in agriculture, especially through the
reduction of export subsidies and other forms of agricultural support,
We support the position of those countries with economies in transition with respect to
proposals for commitments in agriculture related to market access and share non-trade concerns
expressed by many member States in the context of further negotiations in agriculture.  Moldova fullyWT/MIN(01)/ST/136
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supports the idea of establishment of a multilateral system for notifying and registering geographical
indications for wines and spirits, which, in our opinion, will contribute to the enforcement of
additional protection.
Moldova is a low-income country.  In the year 2000 GDP represented only US$350 per capita
and with very high level of external debt.  Therefore, Moldova strongly supports the inclusion of the
examination of the relationship between trade, debt and finance in the Work Programme.
In the process of accession to the WTO Moldova did not receive the status of a developing
country in spite of its relatively low level of economic development and the small size of its economy.
We have no intention to renegotiate the results of its accession, but support the idea of introducing fair
criteria of classification of Members within the WTO according to their level of development.
We consider that Moldova has already made substantial market access commitments,
sometimes going far beyond those that had been made during the Uruguay Round, therefore, these
commitments and further commitments resulting from the new round might have serious
consequences on its economic development creating imbalance and reasoned concern for us.Moldova in common with other newly acceded countries will seek appropriate flexibilities and
accommodation of its interests in the further process of the negotiations.
The Republic of Moldova has a particular interest in participating at the negotiations in the
area of services, especially Mode 4 of services supply, an objective set out in the draft MinisterialDeclaration.
At the same time, the Moldovan delegation will support discussions and negotiations in the
field of investments and e-commerce.
We stand for preserving and development of special and differential treatment for developing
countries.
We are entirely confident that the decisions, which will be taken at this Conference, will
contribute to the enhancement of commerce, investments, employment and national welfare of all
WTO member States.  In this historically important event, everyone should realize, especially
countries with small economies like Moldova, that the individual interests of the member States andtheir future can be protected only in the framework of a well-established legal system, as provided by
WTO and by a new round of multilateral trade negotiations.  We have to do everything possible to put
into practice the decisions, which will arise out of the new round of negotiations.
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