. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/ST/72
11 November 2001
(01-5648)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth SessionDoha, 9 - 13 November 2001Original:  English
OMAN
Statement Circulated by H.E. Mr Maqbool Ali Sultan
Minister of Commerce and Industry
I am honoured to represent the Sultanate of Oman at the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the
World Trade Organization.  My delegation and I are privileged and pleased to come to Doha – our
second home – to participate in this important Conference.  We wish to convey our profound thanks
and deep gratitude to His Highness the Emir, the Government and the people of Qatar for the very
excellent arrangements for this Conference and for the brotherly welcome and lavish Arab hospitalityaccorded to us.
The holding of this Ministerial Conference in the GCC region is a testimony to the important
role and place of GCC in world trade and a recognition of the liberal and open trade regimes of GCC
member States.
This is the first WTO Ministerial Conference that Oman is attending as a full Member of the
WTO.  I am grateful for the welcome extended to us as a new Member of the WTO.  I take this
opportunity to convey the sincere thanks of the Government and the people of the Sultanate of Oman
to all countries who supported our accession to the WTO and who have extended a welcome to us.
My delegation supports paragraph 9 of the Ministerial Declaration in attaching great importance to
concluding accession proceedings as quickly as pos sible.  The Sultanate of Oman strongly supports
the very early accession of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Sultanate of Oman has a long tradition in international trade.  It is at the crossroads of
world trade.  It was thus natural that Oman should be part of the multilateral trading system which
provides the framework for the conduct of world trade.  As a Member of the WTO, Oman wouldstrive to preserve and strengthen the multila teral trading system which has well served the
international community for more than 50 years.
Despite its achievements, the multilateral trading system is not wholly fair and equitable for
developing countries.  The system has its inequities.  As the representative of a country whichrecently completed its accession, let me say candidly that the accession process is introducing further
inequities.  That was our experience when we were made to undertake commitments far in excess of
those undertaken by countries at a comparable or higher level of industrialization and economic
development.  Oman was also made to join the plurilateral agreements which have not been accepted
by a large majority of WTO Members including some developed countries.
This conference will take important decisions on the future role and direction of the WTO.
The Sultanate of Oman supports the role of WTO as a forum for trade negotiations.  Whether these
negotiations are in the form of continuing negotiations or as a new round and whether these are on the
basis of a broad based comprehensive agenda or a smaller manageable agenda should be decided by  agenuine consensus.WT/MIN(01)/ST/72
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As regards negotiations on agriculture, industrial tariffs and services, Oman would like to
make it clear that during its accession to the WTO, it had made extensive and far-reaching
market-access commitments.  Oman should neither be asked nor expected to make any further market
access commitments on agriculture, industrial products and services.  We have paid our price and
should not be asked to pay a price again.
Let me conclude by saying that Oman strongly supports the objectives of the WTO and
earnestly hopes that this Conference would result in  further strengthening the WTO for the benefit of
all its Members.
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