WT/MIN(2 2)/ST/92 
12 June 2022 
(22-4530) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth S ession  
Geneva, 12-15 June  2022  Original:  French  
 
  
STATEMENT BY  H.E. M R ALKACHE ALHADA  
MINIS TER OF TRADE  
NIGER 
On behalf of the highest authorities in Niger , first and foremost, the President of the Republic and 
Head of State, H.E. Mr Mohamed Bazoum,  please allow  me to perform the pleasant duty of 
expressing  our thanks  to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan , which has kindly accepted 
to chair our work, through First Deputy Chief of Staff of the President of Kazakhstan responsible 
for economic affairs, and envoy of the President of the Republic for international trade, 
H.E. Mr Timur  Suleimenov.  
 
On behalf of my delegation, I also wish to convey our deep gratitude to the Swiss authorities for the 
warm welcome that we have received in Geneva, and for the practical arrangements that have been 
made to  organize the Twelfth Ministerial Conference.  
 
I would also like to pay a well -deserved tribute to the Director -General of the WTO, 
Dr Ngozi  Okonjo  Iweala, for the remarkable work that she is carrying out with t he sole purpose of 
strengthening the WTO as the central institution in the multilateral trading system . 
 
To the Chair of the WTO General Council, H.E. Mr Didier Chambovey, I extend my delegation's 
appreciation for his unwavering commitment and the continuo us efforts that he is making to seek 
compromise among Members . 
 
Our Conference  is being held only a few months before the Fifth United Nations Conference on the 
Least Developed Countries (LDC5), scheduled for the beginning of next year in Doha, Qatar.  
 
This group of countries represents only 1.3% of global GDP and less than 1% of world trade and 
foreign direct investment.  
 
The new Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, which was adopted in March  2022, 
has come at a time when the international community is trying to recover from COVID -19 and is 
entering the second half of the time -frame established for the attainment of the Sustainable 
Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.  
 
Our deep aspiration here is for our disc ussions to lead to concrete outcome s, focused on specific 
commitments regarding trade facilitation, the effective implementation of the commitments 
undertaken in favour of LDCs at previous Ministerial Conferences, and the development of an ideal 
margin to ensure a smooth transition for graduating  LDCs, in accordance with the relevant 
United  Nations General Assembly Resolutions.  
 
Agriculture is also an area in which  we expect an ambitious outcome, in order to enable countries 
such as our s, which are exposed to recurring shortfalls in production due to  climate change and 
environmental degradation, and to an acute vulnerability in relation  to soaring international  prices  
and global supply chain disruptions, to respond to the urgent need to guarantee food and nu tritional 
security , while bearing in mind the crucial role of this sector in trade and economic development.  
 
The delegation of Niger, which supports the positions expressed by the LDCs, the African Group, and 
the ACP countries , calls for greater flexibili ty regarding these matters , which will give hope to 
everyone.  WT/MIN(2 2)/ST/92  
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  This involves a  set of key measures  in favour of LDCs , which  include:  
 
• preferential rules for LDCs;  
• flexibilities on trade in services and service suppliers  for LDCs;  
• duty- and quota -free market access , including  the related rules of origin ; 
• Aid for Trade , stressing here the cardinal importance of the Enhanced Integrated Framework,  
which requires increased support in order to safeguard the results obtained and further 
strengthen the actions taken ; 
• agriculture,  in the light of its importance, bearing in mind that countries like ours, which  are 
subject to recurring shortfalls in production, must address the need to guarantee food 
security for our populations ; 
• trade facilitation, whi ch for Niger , as a landlocked country, is an instrument that strengthens 
trade through the smooth and speedy procedures it advocates ; and  
• freedom of transit.  
 
In light of the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic and the current geopolitical context, the issue o f 
agriculture must be addressed as a priority, taking into account the challenges of climate change 
and food security, a s well as  job creation.  
 
We have the same concerns about access to vaccines , medicines and other equipment to combat 
COVID -19, with rega rd to which the  inequality between the developed and developing world is so 
marked that it annihilates all the efforts made so far to achieve universal immunity or to put an end 
to the COVID -19 pandemic . In this regard, w e are convinced that today's world is a global village in 
which nobody is safe until everyone is safe . 
 
We therefore encourage all WTO Members to demonstrate greater flexibility in order to lift all legal 
and technical barriers to the promotion of access t o vaccines  for all , and to undertake strong 
commitments in relation to the pandemic preparedness treaty currently under discussion at WHO, 
with a view to ensuring inter -institutional coherence, synergy and complementarity . 
 
On a completely different subjec t, Niger is closely following the discussions on trade and  
environment, in particular the issue of plastics pollution, e -commerce , which affects in a  
cross-cutting manner aspects involving technology transfer and the digital divide, as well as the 
Joint Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development.  
 
Again , the specific barriers to the  economic and trade development of developing countries, 
particularly LDCs, must be taken into account in all our discussions, to enable them to truly integrate 
into r egional and global value chains.  
 
In this regard , the health challenges faced by countries such as mine and  the Sahel Member countries  
require particular attention.   
 
Lastly, please allow me, on behalf of my entire delegation to express our appreciation.  
 
On this note , we reiterate our interest in and commitment to the future of the multilateral trading 
system, as we are convinced that the major challenges faced cannot be overcome without 
multilateralism, the strengthening of which we hope wi ll be achieved by the end of this 
Ministerial  Conference, together with an outcome that will be beneficial for all.  
 
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