WT/MIN(17)/ST/116  
 
8 January 2018  
(18-0108) Page: 1/1 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos  Aires, 10 -13 December 2017  Original: English  
 
STATEMENT CIRCULATED  BY HON. GEORGE MILNER T OZAKA  
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN  AFFAIRS & EXTERNAL T RADE  
SOLOMON ISLANDS  
We understand that despite the best efforts and intense negotiations by our diplomats in Geneva, 
there was a lack of concrete consensus on almost all negotiating areas. As Ministers responsible, 
the burden now rest on our shoulders to decide collectively o n the future work or direction of our 
organization within the three days of meetings we have. Solomon Islands underlines the 
importance of the multilateral rule -based trading system as embodied in the WTO, that provides 
the stability and predictability for  global trade. We wish to reaffirm the principles and objectives 
set out in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and reject the 
intention to undermine them.  
 
The development gap between developing, least developed and develope d members of this 
organization still persist and if we disregard the multilateral rules and the commit ments we made, 
this gap will be further widened and the global population of very poor people, who are mostly 
found in developing and least developed coun tries, will increase. In this connection, Solomon 
Islands wishes to emphasize the central importance of development in the work of the WTO as set 
out in the Doha Mandates.  
 
We have always considered that trade is not an end in itself, but that trade is an  engine for 
development. This is enshrined in the Marrakesh Agreement establishing this organization and also 
reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals or the SDG, Agenda 2030. Trade is not a 
standalone goal, but a catalyst to achieving many of the 17  goals. However, we are profoundly 
disappointed that despite the various reaffirmations made in every Ministerial Conference on the 
centrality of development, and that Special and Differential Treatment should be an integral part of 
the negotiations, Membe rs still  show lack of commit ment to advancing the development aspect of 
Doha Mandates.  
 
On fisheries, Solomon Islands  (like other small pacific islands countries) considers fisheries as one 
of the few resource sectors that we rely heavily on, for food and livelihood security, and for 
economic development. Therefore, we would like to see a meaningful outcome on fisheries 
subsidies that would include disciplines on harmful subsidies such as to illegal, Unreported 
Unregulated fishing and overfished stocks. At the same time, we underscore the importance of 
according appropriate special and differential treatment that would allow small island states like 
us, which have under -developed fisheries, to develop our fisheries sectors.  
 
We strongly urge members to addr ess the marginalization of LDCs in international trade by 
prioritizing issues of specific interests to them that are commercially meaningful. Furthermore, as 
a direct beneficiary of the Enhanced Integrated Framework, Solomon Islands wishes to 
acknowledge t he funding commitments by members to support the efforts to integrate LDCs in to 
the multilateral trading system.  
 
Finally, with a day remaining, it is important that this conference reaffirms and safeguards the 
very existence and future of this organizati on. Despite its imperfection, the WTO, as a rules -based 
multilateral trading system, provides the avenue for the weakest amongst us to be equal partners 
in the design and debate of global trade rules that aim to benefit all of us.  
 
__________