WT/MIN(15)/ST/69  
21 December 2015  
(15-6800)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015  Original: French  
 
  STATEMENT BY H.E. MR NAZAIRE PARE 
DIRECTOR-GENERAL FOR INDUSTRY, TRADE AND CRAFTS 
BURKINA FASO 
The Minister for Industry, Trade and Crafts, Mr Hi ppolyte DAH would have liked to be present at 
this Nairobi Conference, which is especially symbolic in the history of our Organization. Regrettably, he is unable to attend, owing to other commitments. He has therefore entrusted me with delivering the following statement on his behalf. 
 
First, we convey the profound gratitude of th e delegation of Burkina Faso to His Excellency 
Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya, and to the Kenyan people for the warm 
hospitality that has been extended to us and for the excellent organization of the Tenth Ministerial 
Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) taking place for the first time on African soil and in this great and beautiful country of Kenya. 
 
Burkina Faso endorses the statements already delivered and yet to be made by Mali as coordinator of the Co-Sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Fa vour of Cotton, by Bangladesh on behalf of the 
least developed countries (LDCs), by Lesotho on be half of the African Group, and by Barbados on 
behalf of the ACP and the G-90. 
 Burkina Faso deems it vitally necessary to safeguard the credibility of the WTO as a privileged 
forum for negotiation among its Members. The Nairobi Ministerial Conference should therefore 
yield concrete results that are satisfactory to all. It should also lead to a clear commitment to conclude the Doha Round as soon as possible. 
 
Success at Nairobi will send an unqualified signal to the world that the WTO continues to play a crucially important role in the multilateral trading system. Besides, it is in the multilateral framework provided by the WTO that African econ omies have the best chances of seeing their 
interests supported and of witnessing the consolidation of the development process. 
 The plea for better integrating Africa into world trade has never been stronger. Indeed, prospects 
of fairer and more equitable agreements should not be fading with each Ministerial Meeting. 
 We reiterate our gratitude to WTO Director-Gen eral Ambassador Roberto Carvalho Azevêdo, and 
we highly appreciate his efforts and his clear determination to help Members make a success of 
this Conference in order to buttress the role of the WTO as the central institution in the multilateral trading system and ensure the conclusion of th e Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Burkina Faso 
would therefore like to assure him of its commitment and support in the pursuit of the 
aforementioned fundamental objectives. 
 Before continuing, the delegation of Burkina Faso wishes to congratulate the Republic of Liberia 
and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on their successful accession to the WTO and to encourage 
all countries now in the accession process.  
On this solemn occasion, Burkina Faso would like to reaffirm the importance of the Doha Round to 
cotton-producing and exporting countries and in particular to the least developed among them. The development dimension is indeed the principal justification of this negotiating round and must remain so. 
 WT/MIN(15)/ST/69 
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  Taking place on African soil, the Nairobi Conference is also an excellent opportunity to lay solid 
groundwork for future progress on the Doha Development Agenda. The priority is on the 
development dimension, and the process should fa vour an inclusive and transparent, bottom-up 
approach. 
 
Burkina Faso remains open to any action that would help pave the way for a balanced compromise that is satisfactory to all Members. Success at Nairobi is our aim and we reiterate our 
determination and political will to keep striving and to display flexibility. 
 It is universally acknowledged that trade facilitati on positively impacts growth and stimulates the 
world economy. Burkina Faso therefore welcomes efforts to strengthen and operationalize the 
Trade Facilitation Agreement and hopes that the Na irobi Conference will crown the efforts deployed 
in this regard with concrete outcomes.  
Burkina Faso nevertheless regards agriculture as the central component of development, especially 
on the African continent where the largely rural population must grapple more than elsewhere with the problems of food security and poverty. We th erefore believe that no credible outcome will be 
possible at Nairobi without positively and effectively taking on board the concerns of the least 
developed countries (LDCs).  Turning to Aid for Trade, Burkina Faso wishes to welcome the successful implementation of the 
Enhanced Integrated Framework for LDCs. Indeed , under Phase 1, our country benefited from 
Tier 2 capacity-building projects covering sesame, dried mango and processed cashew nuts, to the great satisfaction of direct stakeholders. 
 
I should like to welcome the generosity and solidarity of donors that announced appreciable contributions here on 14 December 2015 at the Conference to mobilize resources for Phase 2 of 
the Enhanced Integrated Framework. The success of  this phase still depends largely on the rapid 
mobilization of the announced contributions.  If Nairobi is to succeed, Members must display the necessary flexibility in their positions so as to 
facilitate a rapprochement of views on the important trade agreements that are now within reach. 
 In that connection, Burkina Faso is grateful to all technical and financial partners, which are 
unstinting in their support of beneficiary countries in implementing national and/or regional 
projects and programmes to develop the valu e chain in the cotton industry in Africa. 
 
However, in response to the policies of some Members which repeatedly disrupt the international 
cotton market to the detriment of many countries with vulnerable economies, the trade negotiations should come up with urgent and consensual solutions leading to concrete and equitable reforms in the realms of domestic su pport, market access and export subsidies and 
based on the time-frames recommended by the C-4. 
 Burkina Faso therefore invites all WTO Members to engage in the negotiations in good faith, on the 
basis of the progress made and bearing in mind the proposals and comments of Members, while 
appropriately prioritizing and diligently pursuing a package of measures focused on issues relating 
to developing and least developed countries, implementation, as well as special and differential 
treatment (SDT) that is ambitious and agreed on by means of an inclusive and transparent 
process.  Burkina Faso wishes to underline the need to think in terms of a post-Nairobi programme that 
should cover the outstanding DDA issues which are critically important to Africa, especially 
agriculture, cotton, services and non-agricultural market access (NAMA).  
To conclude, Burkina Faso again calls on all Members to work together to adopt trade policies 
consistent with WTO rules, and reaffirms its commitment and attachment to globalization with a human face, globalization that is fairer and more  equitable and capable of bringing comprehensive 
and sustainable development to our societies in a world based on solidarity and prosperity. 
 
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