WT/MIN(13)/22  
 
5 December 2013  
(13-6665)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Ninth Session 
Bali, 3-6 December 2013  Original: English  
 
 PACIFIC ISLANDS WTO MEMBERS JOINT MINISTERIAL STATEMENT 
 
The following communication, dated 4 December 2013,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the Solomon Islands on behalf  of the six Pacific Islands WTO Members. 
 
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We, the Ministers and Heads of Delegations of the Pacific Islands WTO Members1 met on 
2 December 2013 in Bali, Indonesia, on the margins of the ninth Session of the World Trade 
Organization Ministerial Conference to discuss the Pacific Islands engagement in the WTO.  We 
wish to:  
Stress the importance of preserving a fair, inclusive and transparent, rules-based multilateral 
trading system, that promotes the rights of all members particularly the small WTO members, and support the pivotal role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in this regard;   
Underscore the importance of a meaningful outcome an d, therefore, express our full support for 
the successful conclusion of the Bali Package;  
Recall the Doha Ministerial Declaration adopted in December 2001 that embedded the 
development agenda into the work program of the WTO and which had been reaffirmed by successive Ministerial Declarations;  
 
Emphasize  that effective special and differential treatment, a key principle of multilateralism, 
should not be undermined;   
Note that trade is not an end in itself  but an important vehicle for delivering tangible development 
benefits that many of us aspire for;  
Express concern about the current impasse in the DDA and while welcoming the approach of an 
early harvest to keep the multilateral trading syst em alive, highlight the risks that small-package 
negotiations can have in marginalising the central trade concerns of developing Members and 
LDCs; 
 Support a balanced and meaningful outcome in Bali and in particular to addressing Development 
including LDC concerns, Food security  and the provision of adequate and predictable Aid for Trade 
capacity building assistance and Urge Ministers  to extend the political will and leadership 
necessary to achieve good success at MC9;  
 
Underscore the need for new momentum to progress the DDA after Bali and ensure that a holistic 
approach is taken to achieve a comprehensive and balanced outcome of the Round for all members;   
 
Re-emphasised  that a holistic approach post-Bali would also enable Members to address the 
totality of the trade and development interests of members which goes beyond economic 
                                               
1 Six Pacific Islands WTO Member countries are: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, 
Tonga and Vanuatu. WT/MIN(13)/22 
 
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  production but takes into account the notion of sustainable development and balances the 
environmental and social dimensions of trade which includes climate change, sea level rise, food security, health and recovery from frequent natura l disasters that are of crucial importance to the 
Pacific;  
 
Agree  that Bali should not be the end of the DDA but a bridge towards putting back on track the 
DDA negotiations and advancing work on all the development elements, including on special and 
differential treatment provisions to make them more effective and precise; the Work program on 
Small Economies to frame effective responses to the trade-related issues of small vulnerable economies (SVEs) to facilitate their integration into the multilateral trading system including finding practical solutions to the rising non-tariff measures applied on exports of key interest to 
the Pacific such as kava; of fully operationalizing  the LDC package on preferential rules of origin, 
operationalizing the services waiver and in the full implementation of the duty free quota free 
access for LDC exports; and in facilitating the needed flexibility for Recently Acceded Members 
(RAMs); and  
 Extend appreciation to the Government and people of  Indonesia for their generous hospitality and 
contribution to the successful hosting of the World Trade Organization Ninth Ministerial 
Conference.  
3 December 2013 
Bali, Indonesia 
 
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