WT/MIN(24)/ST/85  
26 February  2024 
(24-1588) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Thirteenth Session  
Abu Dhabi, 26 -29 February 2024  Original: English  
 
 
STATEMENT BY THE HON . MR KERRIE SYMMONDS M.P.  
SENIOR MINISTER AND MINISTER OF  
FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND FOREIGN TRADE  
BARBADOS  
I would like to register Barbados ' appreciation to the Director -General of the World Trade 
Organization, Dr Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala, and to the Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United 
Arab Emirates (UAE), for their collective preparations in hosting us in Abu Dhabi for this Thirteent h 
Ministerial Conference.  
 
We are meeting at challenging times. Multilateralism is under threat. Geo -political tensions continue 
to rise. Global supply chains  and trade routes are disrupted and the climate crisis is THE existential 
threat of the 21st century. In the midst of all of this, global poverty rates and inequalities are 
increasing as we move further away from meeting the United Nations Global Goals.  This Ministerial 
Conference must therefore deliver solutions and transformational outcomes that can  help put this 
world back on track.  This includes on matters relating to WTO reform and longstanding 
developmental issues, while sending a strong signal and reaffirmation that multilateralism works.  
 
For small island developing states and small vulnerable  economies like Barbados, the WTO is a 
valuable forum for consensus -based decision -making.  This forum is not just intended to craft and 
adjudicate global trade rules, but to address contemporary issues such as inclusive trade 
and sustainability concerns, t he nexus between policy space and development, and the priorities of 
those impacted by the outcomes of our deliberations.  It is my view that the WTO can only be richer 
for reflecting the contemporary challenges and the opportunities in its work, and showin g that it can 
address the preoccupations of our business community, the concerns of our civil society and of our 
populations in general.   
 
We have a serious agenda before us now at MC13, but development must be at its core – issues 
from food security conce rns in Agriculture, to the extension of the moratorium on applying customs 
duties to electronic transmissions, to making progress on the LDC graduation package and the G90 
Agreement Specific Proposals; from reaffirmation of the centrality of Aid for Trade to concluding the 
fundamentally important fisheries subsidies negotiations.  All of these are critical.   
 
Special and differential treatment is fundamental to allowing developing countries to transform their 
economic base through trade. This must continue t o be a pillar of the WTO especially for least 
developed countries (LDCs), small vulnerable economies and small island developing states, of which 
Barbados is obviously a part.   
 
There are a series of transformative agreements before us this week.  We must a lso give primacy to 
transparent and all -inclusive processes which seek to address issues surrounding WTO reform 
including identifying a solution that repairs and reinvigorates the WTO 's dispute settlement system, 
especially in its two -tiered nature. I cons ider that to be indispensable.  
 
Barbados remains committed to multilateralism and to being involved in all aspects of the work of 
the WTO, including the outcomes now before us at MC13.  In addition to the formal negotiations, we 
have participated in the In vestment Facilitation for Development negotiations.  Barbados also plays 
a leading role in the Micro Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Working Group, which we 
chair, and in the Plastics Pollution Dialogue, which we are a co -convener of.  I take this opportunity WT/MIN(24)/ST/85  
 
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  to thank those Members who have been participating and supporting this work and the discussions 
in these areas .  
 
I am pleased to add that just a few days ago, Barbados deposited its Instrument of Acceptance of 
the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and we continue to actively engage in the second wave of 
negotiations.  Barbados may be a small in comparison to others, but our commitment to the WTO 
has never wavered and our contribution to expanding the rule book, while recognising the differences 
in size and development, and the deliberative functioning of the Organization , will continue to speak 
for itself.  
 
As the WTO prepares to celebrate thirty years of existence, never more have we needed what the 
WTO has to offer:  we need the openness, we need the transparency, we need the predictability, the 
consensus building, the research capacity, and of course the community.  The WTO is as relevant 
today as it was at its inception.  This is not only evident as we weather the ple thora of global crises 
or try to navigate a rapidly evolving technologically advanced world, but as more countries undertake 
the arduous process of acceding to this august and important body. As Foreign Minister of Barbados, 
it is my pleasure and my honour  to take this opportunity to warmly welcome two fellow developing 
states, Comoros and Timor -Leste, as the WTO 's newest Members.   
 
Trade is an engine of growth that has lifted millions out of poverty. But now, more than ever, we 
need trade that is fair, tra de that is balanced, and which works for the most vulnerable amongst us.   
 
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