WT/MIN(13)/ST/10  
4 December 2013  
(13-6641)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Ninth Session 
Bali, 3-6 December 2013  Original: French  
 
  STATEMENT BY MS OLGA RAMALASON 
MINISTER OF TRADE 
MADAGASCAR  
For me, it is a privilege and great honour to have the opportunity, on behalf 
of my country, Madagascar, to address this distinguished gathering at the Ninth Session of the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference. 
First of all, I should like to join previous speakers in congratulating you, Mr Chair, on your election 
to guide this Ministerial Conference. Your wisdom  and experience are a guarantee of its success. 
On behalf of the Malagasy delegation and myse lf, I should also like to express my sincere 
thanks to the Government and people of Indonesia for the excellent organization 
of this Ninth Ministerial Conference of the WTO, and for the warm welcome and hospitality 
we have enjoyed since arriving in this beautiful country. 
Let me take this opportunity to congratulate all the countries that have recently acceded 
to membership of our Organization. 
Before I continue, I must congratulate Mr Roberto Azevêdo on his accession to the post 
of Director-General of the WTO. I also take this  opportunity to express my sincere thanks to him 
and all the members of his team for their laudable efforts to lay the necessary groundwork 
for the success of this Ministerial Conference and the smooth conduct of our proceedings. 
My delegation is committed to playing a full part in this Conference so that, despite the difficulty 
of the task that lies ahead and the major differences of opinion expressed in Geneva, 
we can arrive at results that may satisfy all. 
The negotiations for the conclusion of the Doha  round, which was dubbed the development round 
and which generated such high hopes among all Member States, have been at an impasse 
for many years. Fortunately, all Member States have expressed their willingness to work together 
to preserve the multilateral trading system. 
The negotiations have thus gradually evolved since the Eighth Ministerial Conference, despite the 
difficulties encountered in reaching a consensus on the topics that will be discussed in Bali. 
Creating a climate of confidence and stability in th e multilateral trading system will be meaningless 
if all the appropriate ways and means are not used to strike a balance between all WTO Members. 
We are pleased that the development component is one of the three main pillars of this 
Ninth Ministerial Conference, together with agriculture and trade facilitation. 
Our country continues to place the development dimension at the heart of the negotiations, 
focusing on special and differential treatment, e nhanced technical assistance, institutional support, 
transfer of technology, building production capacity and support for countries struggling 
to overcome extreme poverty. WT/MIN(13)/ST/10 
- 2 - 
  Madagascar remains a strongly agricultural country with great agricultural potential. We attach 
great importance to progress in the agriculture negotiations so that the least developed countries are not marginalized. Back-up measures are required to address the preference erosion faced by these countries in the wake of the negotiations and various trade arrangements. 
Consequently, we call for the strengthening of all instruments that may help enhance and ensure 
effective monitoring of the implementation of commitments, in market access as well 
as in technology transfer and assistance, in order to build the capacity needed to implement the 
provisions of the various WTO rules. 
Statements may sometimes contain commitments that inspire great hope, but it must 
be acknowledged that concrete results are still lacking in the absence of a monitoring mechanism, given the non-binding nature of these commitments. 
The world is watching our Organization and the various stakeholders are awaiting a positive, 
unequivocal signal from us. Let us strive to rise to their expectations so that this confidence in a rules-based multilateral trading system may endure for the benefit of all Members. 
In the case of the Republic of Madagascar, for which the last five years have been a difficult 
period, development has become an increasingly pr essing issue, and trade, now more than ever, 
is the key element of our national development plan; accordingly, a large number of our citizens 
are expecting tangible results from the negotiations that will take place during 
this Ninth Ministerial Conference and hope that a consensus will finally be reached on the issues where differences persist. 
Efforts have been made at the national level to establish an environment that fosters the country's 
development and cooperation with partners. Priority has been given to reintegration into the 
international community through the organization of free and transparent elections with a view to ensuring a return to constitutional order. 
In conclusion, I hope that all the Members of our Organization will show flexibility in order 
to ensure the success of our Conference, so that the discussions under way, which are extremely lively, will result in a consensu s among Members – a principle highly valued 
by our Organization – for the sake of enhanced economic growth, sustainable development and 
greater effectiveness in the fight against poverty.  
__________