WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/105
12December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5297)
Original: French MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
COTE D'IVOIRE
Statement byH.E. Mr.AnetN'ZiNanan Koliabo
Ambassador toBelgium, Benelux andtheEuropean Union
Letmebegin byjoining thedistinguished speakers whopreceded meinwarmly congratulating
theRepublic ofSingapore forsokindly accepting tohostthefirstWTO Ministerial Conference,
demonstrating itsparticular interest inthemultilateral trading system.
Withhardly anynatural resources, Singapore hasmoved totheforefront oftheworld 'strading
nations. Thisspectacular success deserves ourrespect andadmiration.
ThisiswhyIwould askyou,Mr.Chairman, totransmit tothedistinguished Prime Minister
ofyourbeautiful country andtoitspeople andGovernment, thefraternal greetings ofthepeople and
Government oftheRepublic ofCôted'Ivoire anditsPresident, H.E. Henri Konan Bedie.
InApril 1994, atthehistoric meeting inMarrakesh, theMinisters initialled theFinal Actof
thelongest andmost ambitious round ofnegotiations theworld hasknown since theendofthe
Second World War. TheFinal ActoftheUruguay Round inspired considerable hope, butalsogave
risetoconcern.
Following theentry intoforce inJanuary 1995 oftheWorld Trade Organization, guarantor
oftheresults oftheUruguay Round, wearemeeting heretoday toaddanewpagetothehistory of
themultilateral trading system. Thepagewhich weareendeavouring towritetogether musttakeaccount
ofthelegitimate aspirations ofeachandevery oneofus.
Thus, before moving ontothenewissues, wemusttrytofocus ourattention ontheresults
ofthefirsttwoyears oftheWTO 'sexistence.
Ishalltherefore begin bydiscussing thechallenges facing thedeveloping countries ingeneral
andCôted'Ivoire inparticular inthefieldofinternational trade, andthengoontoexamine thepolicies
andstrategies required tocurbthenegative effects oftheUruguay Round Agreements onthemost
vulnerable economies. Finally, Ishallpresent ourviews regarding thenewissues, onwhich there
isseldom aconsensus.
Theprocess ofglobalization andliberalization which hasfollowed theconclusion oftheUruguay
Round ofnegotiations andthecreation oftheWorld Trade Organization hasprovided theworld economy
withfresh possibilities ofgrowth anddevelopment. However, itisaprocess which involves many
risksfordeveloping countries suchasourswhich, owing tothefragility oftheireconomies andtheir
lowcurrent leveloftechnological development, donotstand togainfromitintheimmediate future.
Numerous studies haverevealed thatthecostburden onthedeveloping countries ingeneral,
andtheACP countries suchasCôted'Ivoire inparticular, areessentially theresult, interalia,of:WT/MIN(96)/ST/105
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- Theerosion oftradepreferences owing totheprogressive elimination oftheadvantages
enjoyed byourcountries, andinparticular, theerosion preferences withrespect to
commodities thatareessential toCôted'Ivoire, suchascoffee andcocoa;
- anincrease inthecostoffoodimports duetotheelimination ofexport subsidies.
Since theentry intoforce oftheWTO, many developing countries havebeenexperiencing
great difficulty infulfilling theirobligations, particularly withrespect tothenotification procedures
laiddown intheUruguay Round Agreements. These countries, more thananyothers, require technical
andfinancial assistance inorder tomeetalltheirobligations, anditisessential thattheinternational
community should show solidarity andawillingness tocooperate inthatrespect.
Inorder toreduce theriskofmarginalization ofthedeveloping countries inconnection with
theglobalization andliberalization oftrade, anumber ofspecific policies andmeasures willhaveto
beadopted withaviewto:
- Taking fulladvantage ofthetransitional period during which thedeveloping countries
aregranted exemptions tohelpthem toenhance theirtrade efficiency inresponse to
thechallenges deriving from theMarrakesh Agreements;
- developing technical andfinancial assistance tohelpthem adapt theireconomies to
theevolution ofthemultilateral trading system andtobenefit more fullyfrom the
opening upofmarkets.
Ourcountry, Côte d'Ivoire, hasattended alloftheinternational meetings devoted tothe
negotiation ofworld economic policy.
Moreover, Côted'Ivoire haspersistently done itsutmost toapply theprovisions agreed in
international fora.
Inthatconnection, wearecontinuing toliberalize ourtrade asrecommended bytheWTO,
andwehavebeendiligent inturning theprivate sector intothedriving force behind ourgrowth.
Côted'Ivoire hasreformed itsjudicial system, andcreated aninvestment facilitation bodyfor
localandforeign private investments aswellasanarbitral chamber.
Theresults ofallthese reforms areconclusive, andconfirm, ifneedbe,thatCôted'Ivoire
isbackontheroadtogrowth. Indeed:
• Thecountry hasmoved fromanegative growth rateatthebeginning ofthe1990s to
arateof2percentin1994and7percentin1995, andshould achieve arateexceeding
7percentin1996;
• public andprivate investments arerecovering;
• public andprivate savings areclearly ontherise;
• thedevaluation oftheCFAfranchasrestored thecountry 'scompetitiveness andresulted
inasharp increase inexports.
Thesatisfactory results ofthemacroeconomic aggregates haveenabled ustomake significant
headway inthesocial sectors, particularly intheareas ofhealth, education andemployment.WT/MIN(96)/ST/105
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Weareconvinced thatourintegration intotheinternational trade system willdepend largely
onourability toparticipate actively intheWTO, toexercise ourrights andtofulfil ourobligations.
Inshort, ourentire development policy mustcarry thestamp ofglobalization andliberalization.
Thatiswhywefeelmore thaneverthatthetimeisripeforourpartners tostepuptheirsupport for
oureffortstoachievesustainabledevelopment,bearinginmindtheneedforcoherenceintheirdecisions.
Icannot endmystatement without addressing thesubject ofthenewissues:
1. Trade andinvestment
There isarealneedinthisconnection tomonitor andcoordinate investments attheinternational
level. After all,tradeandinvestment areclearly twosidesofthesamecoin. Thus, without interfering
inthework being doneatUNCTAD, theWTO could actasaforum fordiscussion intheframework
ofaneducational process which could leadtothenegotiation ofaninternational treaty ifallparties
deemed suchatreaty necessary.
2. Trade andenvironment
Although trade andenvironment isnotstrictly speaking anewissue intrade negotiations,
discussionswithintheCommitteeonTradeandEnvironmenthavegivenrisetotheconcernthatmeasures
andpolicies aimed atprotecting theenvironment might simply serve asanexcuse forimposing
protectionist measures within acountry 'sborders orforintroducing additional conditions without
considering theinterests ofthedeveloping countries.
3. Labour standards
Côted'Ivoire hasalways beenabletoadapt itslabour codes totherecommendations ofthe
International Labour Organization (ILO), which rehabilitate theprivate sector, guaranteeing therights
ofsalaried employees.
TheMembers oftheWTO should adopt amore constructive approach tothisissue. In
condemning theinhuman conditions inwhich people arecalled upon towork incertain countries, it
isessential toavoid cancelling thecomparative advantages ofthedeveloping countries inthatarea
andturning labour standards intomarket protection measures.
4. Competition policy
Côted'Ivoire considers thatinthelightoftheglobalization andliberalization which istaking
place, there isapressing needtodraw upinternational rulesgoverning trade andcompetition policy.
5. Regional integration
Finally, mycountry maintains thattheissueofregional integration andmultilateralism provides
theanswer tothepolicy ofdiversifying production andmarkets, developing appropriate infrastructural
networks andensuring therational allocation ofresources inthecontext ofenlarged regional markets.
Thus, Côted'Ivoire askstheWTO tosupport theharmonization ofregional trade policy.
When thisConference isover, wewould liketothink thattheinternational community has
beenabletoidentify ways andmeans toconsolidate theachievements oftheUruguay Round andthe
realprospects ofthemultilateral trading system.