WT/MIN(15)/ST/50  
18 December 2015  
(15-6769)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015  Original: English  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR ISTVÁN MIKOLA 
MINISTER OF STATE FOR SECURITY POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 
HUNGARY  
On behalf of Hungary, I would like to express my  deep gratitude to the government of Kenya for 
hosting the Conference. It is a great honour to be here and we truly appreciate the warm welcome of the people of Kenya.  
This Ministerial Conference is a historic one, for two reasons. 
 It is the first time that a WTO Ministerial Conference is organized on the African continent. 
Hungary attaches great importance to the intensification of its foreign trade relations with African 
countries which is reflected in our “Opening to th e South” strategy. Hungary wishes to revitalize 
the traditionally very good relations we have had with many African countries and to build new 
ones in trade and development cooperation. We concur with those views that the deliverables to 
be adopted in Nairobi should give a major emphasis to the interests of this continent.   Secondly, the WTO is commemorating its twentieth anniversary. At this juncture I would like to 
underline that Hungary attaches great importance to an open, strong and rules-based multilateral 
trading system. We came to Nairobi to have a sincere discussion and provide guidance for the Organization on its post-Nairobi work and to do our utmost to reach a meaningful and balanced 
package.  
 After twenty years, we have to take stock in th e WTO. During the last fourteen years, we made 
several attempts to advance the multilateral trade negotiations in the framework of the Doha 
Development Agenda, with only limited success. We could not achieve major progress in the core substantial issues.   
The world economy has significantly changed in the last two decades. Hungary welcomes the 
success of those countries which have increased their share in the global economy, partially by reaping the benefits of open markets and free trade. This increased role, however, has to be 
adequately reflected both in the multilateral rulebook and in the contributions of these Members in 
the WTO.   
As a consequence of the stalemate in the DDA negotiations, the WTO is missing the opportunity to 
respond to new challenges in the world economy. In order not to became obsolete but remain a vital, vibrant organization capable of producing meaningful results for business, the right of the 
Members to bring new issues of concern to the WTO should be recognized. Work on the 
outstanding issues of the Doha Development Agenda should continue with a focus on rules, but 
negotiations should not be tied to the original DDA framework. We should open the door to fresh 
ideas. The WTO’s credibility and future is at stake. 
 
Let me now turn to the package of deliverables to be adopted in Nairobi. Even though the expected outcome is limited, it should be balanced. The package should have a focus on issues 
important for least developed countries and should contain a horizontal solution on export 
competition, which encompasses all four pillars of  export support measures with disciplines of 
equal strength.   WT/MIN(15)/ST/50 
 
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  Finally, Hungary wishes to welcome the new Memb ers joining the WTO, especially the two LDCs, 
Afghanistan and Liberia, who are acceding during this Conference. We urge Members to speed up 
other accession negotiations, including those of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.  
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