WT/MIN(17)/ST/19  
13 December  2017 
(17-6896) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires, 10 -13 December 2017  Original:  French  
 
  
STATEMENT BY H.E.  MR ABDEL KARIM KONATE  
MINISTER OF TRADE, GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN  
MALI 
I should like first to convey the warm and friendly greetings and congratulations of His Excellency 
Mr Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA, President of the Republic of Mali and the Malian people , to His 
Excellency Mr Mauricio MACRI, President of the Argentine Nation, for having hosted this 
Eleventh  WTO Ministerial Conference.  
 
I am also pleased to express my wholehe arted gratitude to Madam the Minister of Trade and 
Chairperson of the Eleventh Conference, to her entire team and to the WTO Secretariat for the 
facilities and warm welcome extended to my delegation and for the efficient organization of this 
event . It is m y sincere hope that all this aug urs well for the great success of this Conference.  
 
A look back at the history of our Organization, which rose twenty (20) years ago out of the ashes 
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), shows that it contin ues against all odds to 
build momentum . As a result of its efforts, most of the world's trade transactions in goods and 
services are today covered by rules, including the Agreement on Agriculture, the General 
Agreement on Trade in Services, and the Agreeme nt on Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights (TRIPS) . A body has been created to settle trade disputes between Member 
States.  
 
The Qatar Ministerial Conference in 2001 had given real hope to less developed Member States 
through the opening o f a negotiating round known as the Doha Round, the finalization of which – 
today subject to uncertainty – should constitute for these countries the beginning of a genuine 
phase of economic development . However, despite the indisputable progress made, our 
Organization remains polarized between countries of the South and countries of the North and 
riven by dissen sions which are increasingly palpable and thus affect world trade in goods and 
services.  
 
The cotton dossier, still mired in negotiations, is an embl ematic example of this , which should 
make us all more aware of our responsibility to turn the World Trade Organization into an 
instrument of transparency and equity in our trade relations . In my capacity as coordinator for the 
co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton, or C -4 Group , and on behalf of all the 
African cotton  producing and exporting countries, I should like here to sincerely thank all our 
partners who have always believed in the cause of cotton and who support us in the negoti ations 
for more equitable trade through the elimination or reduction of subsidies harmful to the cotton 
trade . I take this opportunity to express my unbounded admiration for the outstanding efforts of 
the Chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on  Agriculture and the excellent work done 
by our negotiators in Geneva, in pursuit of a balanced and universally acceptable solution to the 
issue of African cotton.  
 
However, we can only regret today that, after 14 long years of negotiation, since the launc h of the 
Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton, no significant result has yet been achieved . International 
trade statistics show that African cotton, which accounts for nearly 70 % of some countries' export 
earnings, with insignificant local processing, r epresents no more than 2 % of world trade in this 
product . That is an eloquent illustration of the extreme fragility of these countries' economies in 
the multilateral trading system . It cannot be denied that these countries derive benefit from the 
assistanc e of thei r development partners through A id for Trade. However, we remain convinced WT/MIN(17)/ST/19  
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  that the best way to help them today is to promote access for their products to the international 
market so as to enable them legally to derive greater benefit . We say "yes  to trade and no to 
indefinite assistance".  
 
Despite limited progress on the cotton dossier, African cotton producing and exporting countries in 
general, and those of the C -4 in particular, remain bewildered and highly frustrated at the clear 
lack of will and, above all, of political courage to resolve this issue through trade channels. Yet we 
remain hopeful that this anniversary conference, which is a wonderful opportunity to give a 
powerful boost to multilateral trade, will take important and concrete dec isions that will not 
disregard the issue of cotton.  
 
As regards Aid for Trade, the Government of the Republic of Mali is most interested to note all the 
advantages afforded by the Enhanced Integrated Framework in building the country's production 
capacity,  so as to increase its integration in the multilateral trading system. The performance 
recorded in recent years in the production and marketing of mangoes in Mali is highly encouraging, 
and ongoing projects, such as the gum arabic project, offer much brigh ter prospects for combating 
poverty, especially in rural areas. Allow me to recall the significant pledges made at the last 
round -table event for resource mobilization in the second phase of Enhanced Integrated 
Framework activities. The success of this pha se still depends largely on rapid mobilization of the 
contributions announced.  
 
Building the developing countries' capacity to integrate more deeply in the multilateral trading 
system in order to combat poverty, particularly in the Sahelian  region, is a necessary requirement 
for sustainable peace in this area and for the fight against terrorism. Being today firmly committed 
to these processes, Mali again requests the support of all its partners here present to this end, and 
renews to them it s warm thanks.  
 
Before concluding I should like to follow the example of previous speakers in congratulating and 
welcoming to our Organization, the WTO, both Liberia, which belongs to the same economic area 
as my country, namely ECOWAS, and Afghanistan. I am also deeply grateful to the development 
partners whose aid for trade is assisting the African cotton producing and exporting countries to 
develop the cotton sector in the countries of the C -4 and in Africa. I should also like to reiterate 
my sincere app reciation to the Director -General and the WTO Secretariat for their steadfast and 
multifaceted assistance to my country.  
 
I thank you and wish the Conference every success in its work.  
 
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