WT/MIN(15)/ST/26  
18 December 2015  
(15-6742)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015  Original: English  
 
 STATEMENT BY H.E. MR VLADIMIR BÄRTL 
DEPUTY MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE 
CZECH REPUBLIC  
Allow me to express our gratitude to the Government and People of Kenya for hosting this 
important Ministerial Conference in this wonderful country, on the African soil. Asante sana, Amina Mohamed, asante sana, rafiki wa Kenya!  
We are pleased by the expansion of WTO Membership. The Czech Republic cordially welcomes the 
representatives of the Seychelles, Yemen and Kazakhstan to their first full participation at the Conference. We also greet the accession of Liberia and Afghanistan to our organization.  
 
Increasing Membership is the evidence of the WTO's viability, as well as of continued trust in the multilateral trading system. Moreover, the fact that these new Members are mostly LDCs clearly 
demonstrates the benefits of rules-based trading system for development.  
 The Czech Republic would like to endorse the st atement made by the European Union. We also 
believe that a meaningful deal is doable. In agriculture, we have a substantial outcome in the area 
of Export Competition at hand. Several LDC-specific issues are ripe for harvesting, too. Therefore 
we must not lose this momentum for delivery in these important areas. Legacy of this Conference should have a longer duration than Roberto Azevêdo's drum solo yesterday. 
 
We do realise that the current state of the global economy is challenging in many ways; but it is evident that trade has a potential to help us over come the downturns of the past and to contribute 
substantially to the restoration of global growth. We all aim to agree upon the common rules in 
order to succeed in broadening and distributing we lfare. However, these rules must also reflect the 
reality of modern age. The Czech Republic, as a tr ade-oriented economy, has come to Nairobi with 
this sense of urgency, and the world beyond the WTO has similar expectations.  
 
The first 20 years of the WTO existence were marked by successes, as well as failures. Among the achievements the Trade Facilitation  Agreement stands out. We hope that its ratification will be 
finalized shortly. It will enable  all WTO Members to enjoy the real benefits the Agreement offers. 
 This Conference is a particular opportunity for all of us to honestly reflect on our ability to reach 
compromise. Despite all our efforts, we were unable to bring the long-standing negotiations of the 
DDA to conclusion. Therefore, we feel a need to change our approach.   This does not mean that individual parts of this agenda are no longer valid. However, we must 
take into account emerging new trends in global trade associated with value chains. Unless we 
deal with new topics, such as the development of  the digital economy, investment protection and 
others, within this organisation, a separate spaghetti bowl of different approaches might create 
unintended obstacles for world trade. We should, therefore, consider reinforcing the rule-making 
capacity of the WTO.  
We might not all agree on everything or be ready for particular negotiations at the same time. 
Therefore, issue-oriented or plurilateral negoti ations anchored to the WTO system may be worth 
considering. This approach bears fruit. We are close to finalizing the ITA review and believe that negotiations over the Environmental Goods Agreement will continue with the same drive as in the 
pre-Nairobi period, allowing its conclusion in the near future. WT/MIN(15)/ST/26 
 
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  Today, exactly 122 years ago was for the first time performed the famous Antonin Dvorak's New 
World Symphony; the most audible voice of the symp hony is an expression of universal desire for 
freedom, human solidarity, faith and hope in a new world. Here in Nairobi, we have a future of the world in our hands. 
 
I firmly believe we will use this opportunity to  demonstrate the capacity of the WTO and of the 
Conference itself to deliver.  
 
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