WT/MIN(17)/ST/119  
 
8 January 2018  
(18-0112) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires, 10 -13 December 2017  Original: English  
 
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. DR. BEKELE BULADO BU KANA  
MINISTER OF TRADE  
ETHIOPIA  
(Speaking as an Observer)  
It gives me a gr eat pleasure and I feel honored to  address the Eleventh  WTO Ministerial 
Conference on behalf of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and that of myself. I would 
like also to congratulate and extend my deep apprec iation to the Government and the People of  
Argentina too, for the hospitality we have been receiving since our arrival to this beautiful city of 
Buenos Aires and for the well -organized management process of all events.   
 
It is a well -established fact that trade can serve as an engine for developme nt, an instrumental for 
poverty reduction and a vehicle for prosperity. The trade can also facilitate diversification of 
products for the market, encourages exchange of innovation and know -how, enables transfer of 
technology and attracts investment. The multilateral trading system guarantees investors by 
creating a level playing field, fair treatment for all, predictability and consistency by discouraging 
distortions and availing a systematized and a rule based resolution for any trade related disputes.  
 
For weak economies, trade has proved as the engine of growth through increased commercial 
opportunities and broadening the productive base. It is not only true that being a Member of the 
rule-based system will be a security to a reliable market access, but also being the Member of the 
rule based system can build investors ' confidence by assuring security and predictability of the 
market, especially for Foreign Direct Investment.  
 
As an acceding country, we strongly believe that a rule -based multilateral trading system with 
increased market access opportunities for trade in goods and services will help in achieving the 
SDG and in promoting the private investment. In addition, w e acknowledge that the multilateral 
system ensures  a level-playing field for international trade and strongly believe that a rule -based 
multilateral trading system with increased market access opportunities for trade in goods and 
services will help in achieving our national developmental goals.  
 
Though the process of our accession se ems inactive for the past few years, the Government has 
been taking various pre -accession le gal and  institutional reforms that confirm compatibility to the 
WTO requirements  and procedural r ules. In our view, WTO  membership as an es sential e lement  
of our effort to strengthen trade and  investme nt and estab lish the environment for greater 
economic opportunities, shall have a profound effect in eradicating p overty and installing 
prosperity.  
 
To this regard, my government in its national Growth and Transformation Plan has clearly stated 
the political commitment to conclude the accession process within the plan period.  
 
Furthermore, we appreciate flexibilities exercised to expedite the recently  acceded LDCs; Liberia 
and Afghanistan, in concluding their accession. However, quite a good number of LDCs are still out 
of the system and we still observe accession process of the LDCs is lengthy, costly and complex 
and acceding LDCs face challenges and difficulties in their process. In order to speed up the 
accession process of the LDCs, it requires a real support of all Members which can be WT/MIN(17)/ST/119  
 
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  demonstrated through full implementation of the set benchmarks for tariff bindings and Members 
restraint in seekin g market access on areas that demand policy space for the development.  
The positive step of Notification of LDC 's Service Waiver by the developed and developing 
economies has been an encouraging development. If the LDCs need to exploit the opportunities 
offered through waiver of Market Access Measures, there should be a real Non -Market Access 
Measures and a real Technical Assistance and Capacity Building schemes that can be demonstrated 
on the ground from sides of non -LDCs member states and other partners.      
 
I therefore, would like to urge Members to understand the challenges and difficulties that LDCs 
face in their accession process and show maximum flexibility and restrain in seeking commitments 
that are beyond the level of their development and concessions that hinder from exercising their 
policy space. Finally, we expect that the decision to be taken by this Ministerial Conference will 
speed up the accession process of those of us in the process to join the multilateral family.  
We look forward to becoming a WTO Member soon so that  we hope to participate a ctively in the 
work of the multilate ral trading system and in managing process of th is important organization. 
 
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