WT/MIN(15)/ST/79  
21 December 2015  
(15-6822)  Page: 1/1  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015  Original: English  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. SUMBUE ANTAS 
DIRECTOR, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFA IRS, INTERNATIONA L COOPERATION AND 
EXTERNAL TRADE 
VANUATU  
It is with great pleasure that I make this statement. On behalf  the Government of Republic of 
Vanuatu, I wish to thank the people and the Go vernment of Kenya for the warm welcome and 
gracious hospitality extended to us since our arrival in this magnificent country and for the 
excellent facilitation of this Ministerial meeting. 
 The multilateral trading system is at a crossroad, with the membership divided on how to proceed 
as regards the Doha Development Agenda.  The mu ltilateral trading system has served us well 
since its inception in the 1940s and it is in the inte rest of the global community, to do whatever is 
necessary to strengthen and make it more responsive to the needs of all Members, particularly 
small and vulnerable states which continue to operate at its periphery and are yet to derive 
significant benefits from it.    As one of the recently acceded WTO Members, th is is the second Ministerial Conference that 
Vanuatu is attending. In joining the WTO and, as  an LDC, Vanuatu had the expectation that it 
would enhance its performance in the multilateral trading system. As such Vanuatu urges all Members, particularly the leading trading nations, to exercise the necessary flexibility to make it 
possible for the Doha Round to be concluded as s oon as practicable.  Abandoning the Doha Round 
is not an option for Vanuatu and the multilateral trading system and must not be undermined at this meeting. In that regard, Vanuatu associates itself with the statements made by the Pacific 
Group, the LDC Group and the ACP Group. We need, as an organisation, to reflect on the reasons 
for the current blockage in the Doha negotiations and try to deal with them as effectively as possible. The consensus principle requires the conc erns of all Members to be addressed, otherwise 
the blockage will continue and through our actions we will weaken the multilateral trading system. 
 
We believe that as a small vulnerable country an d an LDC, our interests should be adequately 
taken into account so that we can have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in global value 
chains. Our aspirations should not be undermined by the rigid positions taken by leading trading 
nations in these negotiations. The development dimension must be an integral part of any agreement that we come up with in these negotiations.    
 
As a recently acceded Member, Vanuatu congratula tes Afghanistan and Liberia for completing their 
accession to the WTO. At this Ministerial meeting, achieving consensus on the LDC and development-oriented issues would send a positive signal to the international community that the 
WTO takes seriously the concerns of LDCs. The fifty LDCs account for only 1.24 per cent of global 
merchandise trade underscoring the need for positive measures to be adopted to reverse their marginalisation in the multilateral trading system. Adopting the LDC package at this meeting will 
be a step in the right direction.  Vanuatu also expects the adoption of a post-Nairobi Work 
Programme that would lead to the speedy conclusion of the Doha Round with development at its core. Vanuatu wishes to underline the importance of the provision of adequate technical and 
financial assistance to LDCs.  In that regard, it acknowledges the support it has received from the 
EIF and urges donor nations and organisations to continue supporting this invaluable programme. Vanuatu welcomes the pledging of about USD90 m illion by donor countries earlier this week.  
 
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