WT/MIN(22)/ST/42  
12 June 2022 
(22-4480) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12 -15 June 2022  Original: English  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. NEV EIN GAMEA  
MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY  
EGYPT 
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Switzerland for their hospitality 
and efforts in organizing this important conference. I also thank the Republic of Kazakhstan for 
chairing our Twelfth Ministerial Conference.  
 
I would also  like to express my appreciation to all members, the Director General and the WTO 
secretariat for their hard work over the years following the establishment of our Organization, and 
particularly the last few years, which were marked by major challenges and  crises. Such challenges 
have proved that the Multilateral Trading System is necessary to maintain well -functioning trade 
relations among our countries with a view to achieving our sustainable development goals and 
raising the standards of living of our pe ople. 
 
We strongly believe that the main aim of our meeting is to restore the credibility of the system and 
to reiterate our strong belief that the multilateral trading system is still relevant and resilient enough 
to respond to the challenges faced by our  World today whether they are health, economic or 
geopolitical challenges and crises. We need to reach effective and concrete outcomes that help us 
overcome the impact of current challenges and enhance our readiness to face future crises. We need 
to work t ogether to ensure a fair, inclusive and rules based multilateral trading system.  
 
To this end, Egypt stresses the importance of maintaining development at the heart of any outcome 
and to give due consideration to the needs of developing and least develope d countries hit hardest 
by the current global challenges; this will help us all achieve a quick and sustainable economic 
recovery.  
 
As per our agenda for MC12:  
 
The current global challenges stipulate that we give priority to outcomes that ensure:  
 
- The availability and accessibility to vaccines, therapeutics and medical supplies at affordable 
prices and on equitable basis.  
 
- Mitigating  the impact of the food security crisis  in all our countries and in particular Least 
Developed Countries  (LDCs) and Net food Importing Developing Countries  (NFIDCs)  already 
suffering from  strained  food conditions in a manner that threatens the livelihood of its citizens 
and producers.  
 
A decision on the TRIPs waiver  is of paramount importance to help achieve equitable a ccess to 
vaccines, diagnostics and treatments in order to overcome the impact of the pandemic.  We also 
need to stress the importance of technology transfer to developing countries and least developed 
countries with a view to enhancing their productive, tec hnological and scientific capacities related to 
public health threats.  
 
In this regard, I would like to seize this opportunity to commend the efforts of member countries to 
reach a TRIPs outcome even though it is a partial one. I would also like to commen d the bilateral 
efforts of our trading partners in this respect.  
 WT/MIN( 22)/ST/ 42 
 
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  The global food security crisis we are witnessing and living today demonstrates the centrality of the 
Agricultural negotiations. It is our  priority to reach fair and development -oriented outcomes in 
agriculture negotiations, that would contribute to facing the pressing problem of food insecurity by 
giving priority to already mandated issues, including a permanent solution to public stockholding for 
food security purpos es, a special safeguard mechanism for developing countries, as well as 
correcting the long standing imbalances in the Domestic Support pillar.  
 
Furthermore, developing countries in particular NFIDCS and LDCs need to be accorded the 
appropriate policy space  and tools to enable them to enhance their local production of strategic 
agricultural goods in a manner that is consistent with WTO rules.  
 
In this context, I would like to urge all members to positively consider the adoption of the Draft 
Ministerial Decis ion on "WTO Response to Food insecurity in NFIDCs and LDCs " circulated at the 
request of Egypt in document WT/GC/W/847. The draft decision comprises two major pillars:  
 
 First, the establishment of a work program to improve the operational effectiveness of  
 Marrakesh Decision of April 1994  tackling a number of issues including inter alia : the trade 
 related aspects of an international  compensatory  financing mechanism  to finance normal 
 levels of food imports of NFIDCs and LDCs, in addition to  providing poli cy space for NFIDCs 
 and LDCs to pursue their rural development, agricultural transformation and livelihood 
 objectives.  
 
 Second, allowing NFIDCs and LDCs the flexibility to exceed their de minimis  levels in the 
 Agreement on Agriculture under certain con ditions and for a limited period of time.  
 
On fisheries subsidies negotiations , Egypt is confident that as members we are capable of 
reaching an agreement that fulfils the mandate of SDG 14.6  and provides special and differential 
treatment that takes into  account the developmental needs of developing  countries. The agreement 
should be balanced in terms of members ' rights and obligations.  
 
I would like to reiterate that the sustainable recovery of the global economy requires enabling 
developing countries to  build more resilient economic structures based on economic diversification 
and further integration into the multilateral trading system.  This necessitates the review of all special 
and Differential treatment provisions with a view of strengthening them an d making them more 
precise, effective and operational in accordance with the mandate of paragraph 44 of the Doha 
Development Agenda.  
 
Last but not least, we need to agree in MC12 on launching a dialogue on the WTO's reform agenda , 
in which priority shall b e given to finding an immediate solution to the appellate body impasse. This 
reform agenda shall identify the future work of the WTO in accordance with the principles and 
objectives  of the WTO agreements, and it must be a fair and balanced agenda that take s due 
consideration of the challenges facing developing and least developed countries,  as well as their 
ideas and proposals on reform.  
 
Let me conclude by reaffirming Egypt 's commitment to the Multilateral trading system and our 
readiness to engage constru ctively with all members to restore the credibility of the system and the 
pivotal role of the WTO amid such unprecedented challenges.  
 
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