RESTRICTED  
  
WT/MIN(13)/SR/7  
 
11 March 2014  
(14-1478)  Page: 1/5  
Ministerial Conference 
Ninth Session 
Bali, 3-6 December 2013   
 
 SUMMARY RECORD OF THE SEVENTH MEETING 
HELD AT THE BALI NUSA DUA ICONVENTION CENTRE (BNDCC), 
BALI, INDONESIA ON SATURDAY, 7 DECEMBER, AT 11.15 A.M. 
Chairperson: His Excellency Mr Gita Wirjawan (Indonesia)  
SUBJECTS DISCUSSED 
 
1   ACTION BY MINISTER S (AGENDA IT EM 2) .................................................................. 1  
2   DATE AND VENUE OF THE TE NTH SESSION (AGENDA ITEM 3) ..................................... 2  
3   ELECTION OF OFFICE RS (AGENDA ITEM 4) ................................................................. 3  
4   CLOSURE OF THE SESSI ON .......................................................................................... 3  
 
1.1.  The Chairman called the meeting to order.  
1.2.  The Chairman referred to the very sad news of the demise of the former President of South 
A f r i c a ,  M r  N e l s o n  M a n d e l a .   H e  s a i d  t h a t  N e l s o n  M a n d e l a  w a s  o n e  o f  t h e  w o r l d ' s  m o s t  r e v e red  
statesmen of all time: his life and actions had changed the course of history and would continue to be an inspiration to present and future generation s. He noted that Mr Mandela participated in the 
WTO Ministerial Conference in 1998 with other world leaders to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 
the multilateral trading system and said that he still found inspiration in his words at that 
Conference: " let us resolve to leave no stone unturned in working together to ensure that our 
shared principles are everywhere translated into reality. "On behalf of the Ministerial Conference, 
he extended condolences to the Minister of South Africa and through him to all the people of South 
Africa. 
1.3.  The representative of South Africa made a statement reflected in document WT/MIN(13)/48. 
1  ACTION BY MINISTERS (AGENDA ITEM 2) 1.4.  The Chairman reverted to Item 2 "Action by Ministers", which Members had begun on 
Wednesday with the Accession of the Republic of Yemen. He pointed out that they had before 
them the draft Bali Ministerial Declaration, five  draft Decisions submitted by the General Council 
and the Bali Package, consisting of ten document s in the DDA area.  These documents were the 
outcome of the intensive process of consultations and discussions conducted in Geneva in the last few months, and of the work they had undertaken in Bali.   
1.5.  He stressed that over the past four days he had seen a tremendous amount of hard work by 
all delegations to arrive to that point, and expressed gratitude for the spirit of cooperation, flexibility and goodwill shown by all delegations.   WT/MIN(13)/SR/7 
 
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  1.6.  He suggested that the Ministerial Conferen ce take up the text of the draft Ministerial 
Declaration, the five draft Decisions submitted by the General Council and the ten documents agreed in Bali.   
1.7.  He drew attention to the text of the draft Ministerial Declaration contained in document 
WT/MIN(13)/DEC/W/1/REV.1, which brought togeth er all the draft Decisions, as follows:  
a. Five draft Decisions submitted by the General Council: 
i. TRIPS non-violation and situation complaints; 
ii. Work Programme on Electronic Commerce; 
iii. Work Programme on Small Economies;   
iv. Aid for Trade; 
v. Trade and Transfer of Technology. 
b. Ten documents in the Bali Package: 
On Trade Facilitation: i. The draft Ministerial Decision on the Agreement on Trade Facilitation. 
On Agriculture: 
ii. The draft Decision on General Services; 
iii. The draft Decision on Public Stockholding for Food Security purposes; 
iv. The draft Decision on the Understanding on Tariff Rate Quota Administration 
Provisions of Agricultural Products as Defined in Article 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture; 
v. The draft Ministerial Declaration on Export Competition; 
vi. The draft Decision on Cotton; 
On Development and LDC issues: 
vii. The draft Decision on Preferential Rules of Origin for Least-Developed Countries; 
viii. The draft Decision on the Operationalizatio n of the Waiver Concerning Preferential 
Treatment and Services Suppliers of Least Developed Countries; 
ix. The draft Decision on Duty-Free and Quot a-Free Market Access for Least developed 
countries; 
x. The draft Decision on the Monitoring Mechanism on Special and Differential 
Treatment.  
1.8.  He proposed that the Ministerial Conference adopt the Ministerial Declaration, the draft 
Decisions submitted by the General Council and the full Bali Package. 
1.9.  The Ministerial Conference so agreed.
1 The Ministerial Conference rose in a standing ovation. 
2  DATE AND VENUE OF THE TE NTH SESSION (AGENDA ITEM 3) 
2.1.  The Chairman said that the Rules of Proc edure for Sessions of the Ministerial Conference 
required that the date of each regular session sh ould be established by the Ministerial Conference 
at a previous Session. In accordance with established practice, he proposed that the Ministerial 
                                               
1 The Declarations and Decisions were subsequently circulated in documents WT/MIN(13)/DEC and 
WT/MIN(13)/31 to 45 (WT/L/906 to 920), respectively. 
In addition, subsequent to the meeting, Canada requested to circulate a statement under this item 
which was issued in document WT/MIN(13)/ST/97. WT/MIN(13)/SR/7 
 
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  Conference request the General Council to hold consultations with a view to deciding on the date 
and venue of the Tenth Ministerial Conference. 
2.2.  The Ministerial Conference so agreed. 
3  ELECTION OF OFFICERS (AGENDA ITEM 4) 
3.1.  The Chairman recalled that the Rules of Procedure also provided for the Election of a 
Chairperson of the Ministerial Conference and three Vice-Chairpersons to hold office from the end 
of the Session until the end of the next regular Session.  In accordance with established practice, 
he proposed that the Ministerial Conference request the General Council to hold consultations with 
a view to deciding on the election of Of ficers of the next Ministerial Conference. 
3.2.  The Ministerial Conference so agreed. 
4  CLOSURE OF THE SESSION 
4.1.  The Director-General said2 that in recent weeks the WTO had come alive and the 
Organization could be seen to be the way that it should be; negotiating, dynamic, working hard to 
get an agreement, working through weekends (and  through the weeks), working through the night 
and seeking common ground, finding innovative solutions and making compromises. Such effort 
and engagement had not been seen for a long time. 
4.2.  In recent weeks the Organization had live d up to its name; instead of a non-inclusive and 
non-transparent process, the entire Membership  had come together to negotiate and every 
delegation had had a chance to participate in th e negotiating process. The “World” had been put 
back into the “World Trade Organization”. He was very proud of that, particularly because such an approach had not prevented progress from being ma de; in fact, it had served to strengthen the 
progress that was made. Developed and least-developed Members had played their full role in the 
negotiations, helping to shape a package which strongly served their interests.  He was delighted to say that, for the first time in its history, the WTO had truly delivered. He had challenged all 
Members in Bali to show the political will needed to take the process across the finish line. They 
had done so and he thanked them for it. 
4.3.  With the measures on Trade Facilitation, Agriculture and Development, Members had 
achieved something very significant. People all around the world would benefit from the package 
they had delivered: the business community; th e unemployed and the underemployed; the poor; 
those who relied on food security schemes; deve loping-country farmers; developing-country 
cotton growers; and the least-developed economies as a whole. But beyond that: Members had 
reinforced their ability to support growth and development; they had strengthened the 
organization; and they had bolstered the cause of multilateralism itself. He wished to echo the words of Ambassador Omar Hilale of Morocco, who had said the previous day that "this package is 
not an end — it is a beginning". 
4.4.  As a consequence of the progress here, Members would now be able to move forward on the 
other areas of our work, which had been stalled for so long. With the Bali package Members had 
reaffirmed not just their commitment to the WTO — but also to the delivery of the Doha 
Development Agenda. The Decisions taken here were an important stepping stone towards the completion of the Doha round. And it was very welcome that Ministers had instructed delegations to prepare, within the next twelve months, a clearly defined work programme to this end.  
4.5.  He wished to take the opportunity to than k everyone for their hard work in Bali. And he 
wished also to welcome the accession of the Re public of Yemen, which Members had approved 
during the week. Yemen would be the WTO's 160
th Member — and its 35th LDC Member. It was a 
further, positive step towards universality. 
4.6.  He wished also to pay tribute once again to President Yudhoyono, and to the Government 
and people of Indonesia for hosting this Ministeria l Conference in such an exemplary fashion. The 
WTO community owed them a debt of gratitude.  He thanked Ministers and Heads of State in 
                                               
2 The Director-General's statement was circulated in WT/MIN(13)/47. WT/MIN(13)/SR/7 
 
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  capitals around the world for their help. They were as much a part of this as those present. He 
wished to sincerely thank once more the Ministers and Delegates present in Bali, and the Ambassadors in Geneva for their hard work over many weeks and months. 
4.7.  He expressed his renewed thanks to the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups, and to the 
Secretariat, his team, and the Deputy Directors-Ge neral for their tremendous efforts. Since this 
was an occasion to thank people who had made this possible, he wished to thank his wife Lele; this would not have been possible without her support throughout this long and hard journey. And 
finally, he thanked Minister Gita Wirjawan for his able chairmanship, and for his tireless support, 
political acumen, and dedication to the task throug hout this process. He had been critical to the 
success of this Conference - and this package. It  was with great pleasure that he presented him 
with a ceremonial gavel as a token of the WTO's thanks. He was glad that Members had given him 
a good reason to use it. 
4.8.  He had sought the role of Director-General of the WTO because he believed in the 
multilateral trading system — not for its own sake, but because of what it stood for: a system 
which gave life to the very ideal of multilateralism; and a system which, during the week, he was 
proud to say, had been strengthened and safeguarded for many years to come. 
4.9.  In closing, he wished to recall some of  Nelson Mandela’s words which were, he believed, 
particularly appropriate at the present. He had once said: "It always seems impossible, until it’s 
done". The Bali package might have frequently seemed impossible, but now it was done. And everyone really had delivered, here and now. 
4.10.  The Chairman said
3 that Members had done it. They had achieved what many had said 
could not be done. President Susilo Bambang Yu dhoyono had told them on Tuesday that the 
mystique of Bali would have a positive effect on their negotiations. This was the place where deals were done. He was delighted that Bali had not let them down. 
4.11.  He offered his congratulations to them all. Congratulations on focusing not only on national 
interest, but also on the common good. Congratulations on persevering through long hours of negotiations to reach this historic deal. Congratulations on not only keeping the Doha 
Development Agenda alive, but giving everyone new energy and new confidence to conclude the 
Doha Round. 
4.12.  What they had done here in Bali was truly extraordinary. They had negotiated a package 
that would bring food security to billions of the world’s poorest. They had delivered an Agreement 
on Trade Facilitation that would inject up to a trillion dollars into the world economy. And they had 
agreed to a ground-breaking suite of initiatives to help Least-Developed Countries benefit more from the multilateral trading system. 
4.13.  After many long hours of negotiation, the Ministers of the WTO had agreed to provide 
flexibility for developing countries to implement vital food security programs. They had agreed there was a need to change the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture, which would take time. In the 
interim period, the decision they had taken in Bali would allow developing countries to avoid 
disputes over their legitimate food security programs. 
4.14.  The Trade Facilitation Agreement was the firs t ever multilateral agreement negotiated in the 
WTO. It would reduce the cost of trading, smoot h the flow of goods across borders and provide 
more certainty for business. It would benefit all Members, but particularly developing countries, 
which would have access to assistance to improve their systems and procedures. Most of the economic benefit from trade facilitation  would flow to developing countries. 
4.15.  Least-Developed Countries would also benefit from increased access to markets for goods 
and services in developed countries. Preferential Rules of Origin would make it easier for LDCs to export their goods. And other outcomes in the areas of Cotton and monitoring of Special and 
Differential Treatment would also bring significant benefits and lay the groundwork for further 
gains in these areas. 
                                               
3 The Chairman's statement was circulated in WT/MIN(13)/46. WT/MIN(13)/SR/7 
 
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  4.16.  These were historic achievements. The finish  line had been crossed in Bali, but the race was 
not yet over – now Members had to complete the Doha Round. They had to take the energy and optimism they had gained in Bali and apply it in Geneva.  
4.17.  There was still much to do. Some of the issues discussed here in Bali remained to be solved. 
In this regard, Ministers had instructed their negotiators to prepare a clearly defined work 
programme on the remaining Doha Development Ag enda issues. This plan would build on the 
Decisions taken in Bali, particularly on Trade Facilitation, Agriculture, Development and LDC 
issues. 
4.18.  Through their actions in Bali, Members had reaffirmed the WTO’s role as the pre-eminent 
forum for multilateral trade negotiations. It was only through multilateral agreements that many of the poorest and most vulnerable countries could truly benefit from international trade. So what 
Members did in the WTO was vital. 
4.19.  He wished to offer again his sincere thanks to the Ministers who had assisted him so ably as 
Vice-Chairpersons, the Chairman of the General Council, the WTO Secretariat, and each of the 
Ministers and delegations representing their Govern ments at this Ministerial Conference for their 
hard work over these past four days. 
4.20.  And most of all he thanked Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the WTO. It was his vision 
and leadership that had made the Bali package possible. The energy he had brought to these 
negotiations had made all the difference. He requested all to join me in thanking Roberto. 
4.21.  Ministers had achieved all they had set out to achieve during the week. The mystique of Bali 
had embraced their work, and he wished that it  now embrace their souls. He hoped everyone 
would still have an opportunity to enjoy delights of this truly magical island. Bali had kept its 
promise: it had given a new morning to the World Trade Organization. 
4.22.  The Ninth Session of the Ministerial Conference closed at 11.45 a.m. 
__________