WT/MIN(22)/ST/60  
12 June 2022 
(22-4497) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12 -15 June 2022  Original:  French  
 
  
STATEMENT BY H.E.  MS SHADIYA ALIMATOU ASSOUMAN  
MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE  
BENIN 
The delegation of Benin, which I have the honour of leading, is delighted to take part in this 
Twelfth  Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is finally taking place 
following consecutiv e postponements in 2020 and 2021 due to t he COVID -19 pandemic.  
 
In this unprecedented context, I would like to extend my delegation's sincere congratulations to the 
Kazakh Chair of MC12, to the WTO Director -General, Dr Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala , to the Secretariat 
and to all WTO bodies for their unwave ring commitment and their sheer determination to ensuring 
that this eagerly anticipated Ministerial Conference actually take s place.  
 
Yes, there are particularly high expectations for this Ministerial Conference:  
 
1. High expectations in view of  the global co ntext  in which the Conference is taking place, 
characterized as it is  by successive  crises – the health crisis, the economic crisis and 
the food crisis  – due to the combined effects of the COVID -19 pandemic and the conflict 
between the Russian Federation and Ukraine . These unusually severe crises require an 
urgent and ambitious response from the WTO in its fields of expertise to help to effectively 
alleviate their short -term effects.  
 
2. High expectations in the light of  the particularly disappointing outcomes of the 
Doha Development Agenda (DDA) , with developing countries and least developed 
countries in particular still waiting for the promises made at its inception two decades ago 
to be fulfilled . This situation is inc reasingly undermining the prospects of the countries 
concerned achieving sustainable and inclusive growth to attain  the Sustainable Development 
Goals by 2030.  
 
3. The h igh expectations held in general by the most vulnerable WTO Members , which 
would like to se e a comprehensive reform of the multilateral trading system , with a view  to 
improv ing its rules, principles and operating mechanisms , so that international trade can 
serve everywhere as a true lever for creating wealth and employment, alleviat ing poverty 
and reduc ing inequality ; in other words, so that  international trade can be a source of 
development and shared prosperity for all nations.  
 
4. The particularly h igh expectations held by  Benin and the other C4 countries , which 
co-sponsor the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton , in the face of the clear lack of results 
and the systematic blockages observed in the implementation of successive ministerial 
statements adopted on cotton ( Hong Kong, Bali, Nairobi ), that cotton will be  addressed 
"ambitious ly, expeditiously and specifically"  within the  negotiations on agriculture, given the 
product's strategic and vital importance to our economies and population.  
 
In this regard, the delegation of Benin is echoing  the expectations of the poor and vulnerable,  who, 
from the most remote  parts of Africa, are now looking to Geneva and hoping for tangible results that 
can finally free cotton from the distorting effects created by the huge domestic support that 
developed countries give their cotton producers . This d omestic support severely disrupts the 
international market for this strategic product and ruins the efforts of  million s of small -scale cotton 
producers in Africa who, along with their households, rely directly on cotton for their livelihoods.  WT/MIN(22)/ST/60  
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  The delegatio n of Benin is ready and willing to play a constructive role in the work of the current 
Ministerial Conference to produce  an effective and ambitious response from the WTO to the 
challenges mentioned.  
 
We will be paying close attention to whether the specific interests of the groups of which Benin  is a 
member (the African Group , the least developed countries , C4, the African, Caribbean and 
Pacific Group , and G33) , whose positions we support , are taken into account . 
 
In particular, my delegation invites WTO Members to recommit to the Sectoral Initiative in Favour 
of Cotton, echoing the clear message given by the United Nations General Assembly when it adopted 
Resolution  75/318  of 30 August  2021, which proclaimed  7 October as World Cotton Day.  
 
In addition, the delegation of Benin will pay close attention to the thematic negotiations on:  
 
1. agriculture , in particular the issues relating to domestic support and public stockholding for 
food security purposes, for which a p ermanent solution needs to be adopted;  
 
2. fisheries subsidies , to ensure that the scope of the draft agreement under negotiation on 
this issue can be comprehensive while incorporating the specific concerns and needs of 
developing countries and least developed countries;  
 
3. special and differential treatment , with a view to maintaining this arrangement and 
improving it to give developing and least developed countries the necessary flexibility to 
achieve their sustainable development goals;  
 
4. e-commerce , so that there is a necessary movement towards the repeal of  the moratorium 
on customs duties on electronic transmissions . The delegation of Benin also reaffirms its 
support for the establishment of a multilateral working group with a clear, balanced and 
meaningful mandate on e-commerce, so that WTO Members, regardless of their level of 
development, can participate.  
 
In closing, my delegation would like to stress how much Benin values the technical and financial 
assistance it receives under the Enhanced Integrated Framework programme, Aid for Trade and 
other relevant WTO initiatives . In this regard, my delegation would like to be able to count on  the 
continu ed support and increased commitment  of developed countries in terms of  development 
finance , in order  to strengthen these initiatives and, ultimately, to meet the specific needs of 
developing countries and least developed countries in terms of access to capital and technology . 
This will strengthen the productive capacities of these countries and  allow their successful integration 
into the multilateral trading system.  
 
It is on this passionate appeal that I would like to close my statement and wish us every success in 
our work.  
 
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