WT/MIN(22)/ST/79  
12 June 2022 
(22-4516) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12 -15 June 2022  Original: English  
 
 
STATEMEN T BY H.E. MR SILVINO AUGUSTO JOS É MORENO  
MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE  
MOZAMBIQUE  
It is an honour to my Government and gives me great pleasure to join the WTO 's Twelfth Ministerial 
Conference in Geneva.  Allow me Chair to express my gratitude to the Governments of  Kazakhstan 
and Switzerland and specially you Mme Director General, for co -hosting the 12th WTO Ministerial 
Conference, despite the challenging circumstances the world is in since 2020.  
 
Since our last Ministerial Conference, Mozambique believes that the Multilateral Trading System,  
today more than ever, must and can serve the interests of all WTO Members. This week, I believes 
that the world is anxious and waiting for practical and effective approach of the WTO. It  is our 
expectation too, that all the effort over the last months will result in the reaffirmation to the centrality 
of inclusive development in WTO negotiations.  
 
Mozambique, has developing its Multilateral Economic Cooperation agenda always in line with  the 
priorities of inclusive and sustainable development, favouring Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, 
whose epicentre has greater emphasis on LDCs.  
 
Mozambique, like other LDCs and other countries, has been devastatingly impacted by the COVID -19 
pandemi c, effects of climate change, and natural disasters. These have greatly set us back in 
attempting to achieve the implementation of the SDG goals.  
 
Mozambique like others, is still facing an limitation of financial resources to facilitate our economic 
recovery and a huge lack of infrastructures, technologies, competitive assets and capacities to 
overcome these gaps.  
 
As priority, we urge WTO Members to deliver a meaningful outcome on the TRIPS Waiver, as part of 
the response of the WTO to the pandemic cris is. The lives, the food security system, the value chain 
production and livelihoods of all people must be given the most urgent priority.  
 
This is the time for the WTO to deliver – and Mozambique joins hands in the spirit of  solidarity and 
cooperation to call for a decision on the TRIPS Waiver for certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement 
and the need to address intellectual as well right support to solve the logistics and distribution 
systems in order to facilitate too the access fo r techno logy and know -how to accelerate the scale -
up and diversification of production and supply.  
 
Agriculture as well as cotton trough the industrialization integrated approach, constitutes the basis 
of subsistence and income, thus, a source of livelihood, not only for Mozambique but, to many LDCs, 
African countries as well as Developing cotton value chain producing countries.  We urge for the 
elimination of subsidies and other systemic issues so as to enable fair and competitive access to 
markets and competition , equity and derived benefits.  
 
Developing countries must be allowed policy space to utilize their fishery resources for the benefit 
of their citizens and their right to develop their domestic sector. The special and differential 
treatment for developing a nd LDCs deserve to be prioritised unconditionally.  
 
Mozambique support the WTO approach and reiterate the vision that sea economy is strategic and 
inclusive sector  which need to comply and seek security, competitiveness, sustainability, food quality WT/MIN( 22)/ST/ 79 
 
- 2 - 
 
  and n utrition in order to assure the livelihood. A balanced outcome is one that preserves the policy 
space for developing countries while disciplining the biggest subsidizers who have been contributing 
to overfishing and overcapacity.  
 
At this juncture, Mozamb ique would like to stress the following:  
 
a) This Conference and all processes should be inclusive, transparent and inclusive to all WTO 
Members.  
b) This Conference may address to the need of looking forward to development assistance and 
Aid for Trade to boost t he involvement of LDC 's MSME in the global value chain.  
c) Due the current impact and challenges faced with COVID -19, mainly the high costs on 
operations in global supply chains, this conference may address these aspects that are part 
of trade facilitation as turning point in the multilateral context to stimulate the economic 
recovering for our common development.  
d) The principles of the Marrakesh Agreement, including decision -making by consensus and the 
embedded right to development should be pre served.   
 
Mozambique believes that this Twelfth Ministerial Conference must deserve a adequate approach to 
deal with  e-commerce, digitalisation, industrialization in view of enabling the quality of trade 
balance.  
 
Finally Chair, the institutional reform of  the WTO is an important conversation which is essential for 
the well -functioning of this Organization and the participation of all the WTO Members is fundamental 
towards rebuilding the credibility of this organization. We believe that this will enable WTO  Members 
to revive and strengthen the multilateral trading system in benefit for all.  
 
 
__________