WT/MIN(24)/ST/111  
26 February  2024 
(24-1664) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Thirteenth Session  
Abu Dhabi, 26 -29 February 2024  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
STATEMENT BY H.E. MS MARÍA LUISA HAYEM  
MINISTER OF THE ECONOMY  
EL SALVADOR  
It is an honour to represent the Government of El Salvador at the WTO's Thirteenth Ministerial 
Conference.  
 
I should like to extend our thanks to the United Arab Emirates for its warm hospitality and the 
organization of this Ministerial Conference.  
 
Since we last met in June  2022, t he world has undoubtedly continued to face major challenges in 
the economic and trade environment, which require an effective response from the WTO and its 
Members.  
 
Against this complex backdrop, we must step up  the work carr ied out in the Organization to ensure 
the proper functioning of international markets and to strengthen and diversify the different links in 
global value chains.  
 
During this Ministerial Conference, we will have the opportunity to move forward on importan t issues 
such as food security, sustainable development and investment facilitation.  
 
El Salvador believes that the benefits of international trade must reach our people, which is why we 
support an inclusive and sustainable trading system that takes into account the development needs 
of all Members.  
 
WTO trade negotiations can help to create new opportunities and address the most pressing 
challenges we face so as to increase our participation in international markets , which in  turn will 
help attract  more investment and crea te more  jobs in our countries.  
 
This is the case of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which provides us with the necessary framework 
to improve our infrastructure and streamline trade flows and procedures. Today, El  Salvador has a 
strong National Trade Facilitation Committee comprising more  than 17  government institutions and 
7 business sector associations, with whom we are working  to make El  Salvador an increasingly 
competitive and attractive country for investment.  
 
Furthermore, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) awarded the 
Committee of El Salvador a Sustainability Score of 73  points out of  100, the highest score in the 
Central American region and, more broadly, a very positive result for Latin Americ a.  
 
For this reason, we believe that we must not forego the opportunity to hold constructive discussions, 
with a view to achieving significant results at this Ministerial  Conference, which will contribute to 
trade becoming a tool for economic development and poverty reduction.  
 
As regards the negotiations, we consider it important to make progress on agriculture , while  pursuing  
reform in this sector that will contribute to promoting global food security . We must show 
leadership a nd pragmatism to achieve a balanced , negotiat ed agreement, which takes into account 
the legitimate development aspirations of all Members.  
 WT/MIN(24)/ST/111  
 
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  As Members, we have a duty to move forward on talks on sustainable trade  under existing 
mandates and to promote the  strengthening of the Committee on Trade and Environment so that 
sustainability regulations strike a balance between trade and environmental protection.  
 
We also recognize the growing importance of e-commerce  and digitalization, which have now 
become cruc ial elements for the economic development of countries, allowing for greater efficiency 
in trade transactions, greater reliability, capacity for resilience and at the same time facilitating the 
entry of new actors such as our small and medium -sized enterpr ises. There is therefore a need to 
work together to create rules that govern the emerging digital economy in accordance with the 
capabilities of each Member.  
 
The Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development  will bring great benefits to 
economies such as El  Salvador's, boosting efforts to streamline investment -related procedures and 
make them transparent through the digitalization of government services, as well as fostering the 
use and transfer of technology, which will promote the participation o f economies such as 
El Salvador's in global investment flows.  
 
We hope that this Agreement will also promote and attract investment, which will enable the 
expansion and diversification of productive capacity and the creation of more and better jobs, thus 
contributing to El  Salvador's sustainable economic growth.  
 
Another central issue for our country is the promotion of women's integration into trade both locally 
and globally. El  Salvador, as one of the co -Chairs of the Informal Group on Trade and Gender,  will 
continue to support initiatives for the mainstreaming of gender into the Organization's work in a 
horizontal manner.  
 
El Salvador also emphasizes the work of the Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and 
Medium -sized Enterprises (MSMEs), and their important role in ensuring more inclusive trade that 
supports the economic and social development of our people.   
 
El Salvador recognizes the work being done on small economies, which is of great value in 
strengthening development policies for smaller coun tries. In this regard, we support the Ministerial 
Declaration and the programme of work for the next period.  
 
Lastly, we stand ready to continue to work constructively on the various issues on our agenda and 
to contribute to WTO reform, in order to build a relevant multilateral trading system with fair rules 
that responds to the current needs and aspirations of its Members.  
 
We are confident that the Thirteenth  Ministerial  Conference will demonstrate that the WTO and its 
Members can deliver concrete resul ts that improve the lives of each and every one of our citizens.  
 
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