WT/MIN(15)/ST/78  
21 December 2015  
(15-6807)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015  Original: French  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. DR ROSA PACAVIRA DE MATOS 
MINISTER OF TRADE 
ANGOLA  
On behalf of the Republic of Angola, I should like first of all to thank the Government and people of 
Kenya for the very warm welcome extended to our delegation and for having created excellent working conditions for the holding of the Tenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization. 
 
Africa is pleased to be hosting this WTO Ministeria l Conference for the first time and to be doing so 
in the year marking the 20
th anniversary of our Organization. All Africans are deeply honoured by 
this. 
 Madam Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Kenya, Ambassador Amina Mohammed, 
as a woman I feel honoured to see you guiding our deliberations with responsibility, and we wish 
you every success as Chairperson of the Te nth Ministerial Conference of the WTO. 
 I take this opportunity to encourage the WTO Director-General, Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo, and 
his team to continue to lead our Organization with determination, skill, tenacity and selflessness. 
 Fourteen years ago the Members of the WTO launched the Doha Round, called the development 
round, one that engendered hope for thousands of  people, especially those suffering from hunger 
and poverty, who believed and continue to believe that increased trade is tantamount to ensuring sustainable economic development for our countries. 
 
The reaffirmation of the DDA will spur the economies of Member countries, especially LDCs.  The delegation of Angola attaches the highest importance to concluding the DDA negotiations so 
that we can then embark on new paths; this is the major challenge facing this Conference. 
 Agriculture, on which most of our countries depend, contributes significantly to job creation, 
poverty reduction and to increasing gross domestic product, and must be a priority. 
 It will not be possible to combat poverty and pr omote development without boosting productivity. 
 
Indeed, boosting production capacities, promoting industrialization that adds value to commodities and the building of infrastructure constitute a priority for the development of our economies in 
order to create a favourable market environment without resorting to subsidies that distort 
international trade. 
 Angola is currently implementing its national ex port development strategy, components of which 
are the agricultural and agro-industrial clusters, two fundamental pillars of the Doha Agenda that 
are a focus of attention at this Conference.  
My delegation calls for greater flexibility in ou r decision-making on this topic for the sake of 
greater export competitiveness and fair and balanced trade.  One consequence of the world financial crisis is a significant slowdown in international trade. We 
must redouble our efforts in this regard so that  the multilateral trading system is not affected. WT/MIN(15)/ST/78 
 
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The holding of the 10th WTO Conference in our continent is an important step for all countries in 
the direction of outcomes that are in line with the DDA.  
Angola has immense agro-ecological potential, together with abundant water resources, fertile 
land, a market open to foreign investment, and the groundwork already in place for exporting its products. In this connection and as an LDC, Angola calls for the dismantling of agricultural export 
subsidies and for the adoption of measures that will effectively integrate developing countries into 
the multilateral trading system.  Despite the current difficulties in successfully concluding the negotiations, we are still convinced of 
the importance of the WTO as the main negotiating forum for the purposes of improving 
international trade rules.  
Angola is strongly opposed to attempts to abandon the DDA and rejects any action that 
compromises the basic principles that guide the Doha negotiations, including the single 
undertaking. 
 
The success of the 10
th Conference depends on the commitment of all Members, and we cannot 
nor must we leave Nairobi with our heads hanging, but instead held high, having made a success of the first Ministerial Conference taking place in Africa. 
 
Finally, Angola welcomes the accession of Liberi a and Afghanistan to the WTO and endorses the 
statements made by the coordinators of the African Group, the LDCs and the ACP Group. 
 
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