WT/MIN(24)/ST/62  
26 February  2024 
(24-1555) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Thirteenth Session  
Abu Dhabi, 26 -29 February 2024  Original: English  
 
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. DR DORIS N. UZOKA -ANITE, CFA  
HONOURABLE MINISTER OF INDUSTRY,  
TRADE, AND INVESTMENT  
NIGERIA  
I bring you warm greetings from His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR and the entire 
people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. At the outset, let me heartily congratulate you, on your 
election, as the Chairman of the Thirteenth World Trade Org anization (WTO) Ministerial Conference 
(MC13).  
 
Let me also seize this opportunity to congratulate our host, the Government and People of the United 
Arab Emirate and the WTO Secretariat for the excellent arrangements made to ensure a seamless 
Conference.   
 
In a little over a month 's time, it will be 30 years since we signed the historic Marrakesh Agreement 
that established the WTO. Despite the current polycrisis, no one can rightly question the WTO 's role 
in fostering the expansion of global  trade and prod uction as well as its contribution towards global 
sustainable development. Trade has been a key driver of economic growth and prosperity. However, 
what is evident is that while some countries have managed to harness the full benefits of 
technological advan cements and of trade to boost their share of global economic growth, the reality 
is that most Developing Countries, are  only capturing an insignificant fraction of that growth due to 
development challenges.  
 
Let me be clear, the WTO cannot proffer solution s to all our economic difficulties. We believe 
Countries must themselves decide on requisite reforms to drive growth. On our part, under the 
leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, we are intensifying reforms needed to improve 
institutional and re gulatory frameworks, business environment, and competitiveness with the aim 
of attracting sustainable investments, increase productive capacity, generate employment, and 
alleviate poverty. In our view, these reforms are key, if we are to reap economies of scale or other 
market efficiencies under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as well as from our 
participation in the Multilateral Trading System.  
 
However, we believe for our ongoing reforms to yield the desired results in the context of the 
Multilateral Trading System, the WTO rules ought to be adapted to avail developing Countries the 
policy space to support sustainable industrialization, economic diversification, and structural 
transformations, including through enhancing domestic production and value addition. The rules 
should also be adapted to the evolving nature of the global economic landscape. We therefore call 
on Members to prioritize reform s that would address simultaneously the longstanding development 
issues on the negotiating agenda of the WTO, together with issues of commercial significance that 
foster inclusive growth, create jobs, and widen the circle of prosperity . In this regard, we welcome 
the conclusion of the negotiations of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement and 
call for its adoption in this Conference as an Annex 4 agreement.  
 
On process , Nigeria welcomes the structured "Modalities of Sessions ", as contained in  document 
WT/MIN(24)/INF/9 . We believe that this provides Members with a constructive way of engagement 
on the identified priority areas. We commend the  Director -General of the WTO, our big sister 
Dr Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala  (GCON ), for her commitment towards ensuring a productive and successful 
MC13.  
 WT/MIN(24)/ST/62  
 
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  On substance , Nigeria wishes to, first, reiterate its well -known positions on agriculture trade 
reform  which we believe should be approached from a food security and livelihood perspec tive. We 
call for continued review of the trading rules for agriculture with a view to achieving equitable rules 
that enhance food security, by providing the necessary policy space for augmenting production and 
productivity and protecting livelihoods in de veloping countries, along with diversifying and stabilizing 
the global supply of food products by achieving reductions in inequitable trade distorting support 
and protection. In this regard, the MC13 work programme must pave the way for the adoption of 
decisions on critical food security instruments of Public stockholding for Food Security Purposes 
(PSH), and Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) for Developing Countries as well as Cotton. In 
addition, it must foster negotiations on modalities to address trade distorting domestic support 
especially with regards to levelling of the playing field.  
 
Regarding Development , for Nigeria the aims of reforming the WTO  and our development 
objectives are intricately interwoven.  We continue to call for the provision of policy space for 
Developing Countries to build resilience and capacity to respond to compounded economic crises 
and pursue economic development through ind ustrialization, economic diversification, and structural 
transformation. We believe, MC13 should mandate Members to work towards the delivery of MC14 
outcomes that would address issues adduced in the African Group submission on Policy Space for 
Industrial Development which identifies three core agreements  and areas that necessary policy 
space must be created to pave way for the deployment of  industrial policy tools  by Developing 
Countries to drive development . 
 
On Fisheries Subsidies, we welcome the increasing number of ratifications of the MC12 Fisheries 
Subsidies Agreement (FSA) and encourage Members who are yet conclude this process to expedite 
action. We also welcome the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism and call for it to be made eas ily 
accessible for Developing Countries to invest in their fisheries management systems.  We are 
optimistic that MC13 would deliver a SDG14.6 consistent agreement on the outstanding issues, 
including overcapacity and overfishing (OCOF) that focuses on the m ost harmful subsidies with 
effective special and differential treatment for developing countries that are not responsible for OCOF 
and exemption for small players whose share of global marine captures is below 0.8%. In addition, 
artisanal and small -scale f ishing should be excluded from the scope of application of the discipline.  
 
Regarding the E-Commerce Work Programme and Moratorium Nigeria continue to call for the 
Work Programme to be approached from a development perspective. This will enable us to explo re 
the appropriate policy instruments within the WTO toolbox  that could be deployed to foster the 
development of ecommerce ecosystem in Developing Countries.  On the Moratorium, we believe that 
issues regarding the scope and the definition of the moratorium  should be taken up post MC13 and 
clarified so Members can understand the scope of their commitment. Regarding the moratorium on 
Imposing Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions, Nigeria is of the view that it should be 
extended temporarily. Nigeria hol ds this view for two important reasons. First, the non -renewal of 
the moratorium would undermine the predictability of global e -commerce environment, and this 
would negatively affect businesses and consumers. Next, it will undermine the competitiveness and  
growth of our MSMEs who would be unable to access intermediate content at cheaper price.  
 
I believe Members have a shared responsibility to work collectively to strengthen  the WTO . We must 
therefore ensure that MC13 builds on the success of MC12 and deli ver outcomes that proffer 
solutions to the food, livelihood and development challenges of WTO Members as well as respond to 
the challenges of the ever -changing global economic landscape. Consequently, all hands must be on 
deck in our collective efforts to revitalise the WTO and enhance its role in global economic 
policymaking.  
 
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