WT/MIN(22)/ST/ 26 
12 June 2022  
(22-4462) Page: 1/1 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12-15 June  2022 Original: French  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR LUC MAGLOIRE MBARGA ATANGANA  
MINISTER OF TRADE  
CAMEROON  
My first words will be words of gratitude to the WTO  and, more specifically, to Director -General 
Dr Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala, for having organized and held this Twelfth Ministerial Conference after 
various twists and turns.  
 
I would also like to thank the Swiss authorities for their warm welcome and the magnificent city of 
Geneva for its legendary hospitality.  
 
The work of the WTO's Twelfth Ministerial Conference is taking place at a critical juncture , one at 
which we , as States,  are called upon to show collective and individual responsibility as regards  the 
meaning and future of our Organization and, in broader terms, the meaning and future of trade 
multilateralis m, which was originally designed as an instrument to promote the development of 
States and nations through trade, and not as a mechanism to conquer ever increasing market shares 
and ensure the subservience of the weakest.   
 
What is the point of burying our  heads in the sand, closing our eyes and pretending not to see 
anything, when the situation is now so serious and many nations in the world and most notably in 
Africa, but not exclusively, are on the verge of an imminent and unprecedented food crisis ? If nothing 
is done immediately, this situation will risk increasing the phenomenon of migration, which will, in 
turn, disturb the peace of mind of Western countries . 
 
Our populations are watching us as they scan the horizon, waiting for bold, daring and legiti mate 
initiatives from our Organization that  will restore without delay the normal rules regulating world 
trade flows, so as to enable our populations simply to feed themselves, which is something they can 
no longer do today. This is our role. This is our mission. This is our responsibility, in full accordance 
with the Preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization , which 
lays down the key objectives of raising the standards of living of our popul ations and ensuring full 
employment. We are unfortunately a long way from achieving this, and agree with Mr André Maillard, 
who, in a work published in 1998, speaks about "an inhumane market".  
 
Cameroon therefore calls for an "aggiornamento" , a return to t he bases of multilateralism. The 
WTO's Twelfth Ministerial Conference is an opportunity for us to do this. As a result, we must  show 
solidarity and operational pragmatism in examining issues relat ed to the following aspects : 
 
1. Food insecurity, which threatens a considerable part of the world's population . 
2. The deregulation of supply chains, which prevents the poorest countries from reaping 
the benefits of  international trade . 
3. Trade's contribution to tackling the COVID -19 pandemic, in particular t hrough the 
facilitation of production and access to vaccine s. 
4. The imbalance in global rules in the agricultural sector.  
 
All this without forgetting other key issues, such as fisheries subsidies, dispute settlement, special 
and differential treatment an d many more.  
 
The delegation of Cameroon would like to assure the Ministerial Conference of its availability in 
respect of all these issues.  
 
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