WT/MIN(13)/26  
 
5 December 2013  
(13-6673)  Page: 1/3  
Ministerial Conference 
Ninth Session 
Bali, 3-6 December 2013  Original: English  
 
MINISTERIAL COMMUNIQUE 
BALI - INDONESIA 
MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE GROUP OF LANDLOCKED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
The following communication, dated 5 December 2013,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Paraguay on behalf of the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). 
 
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 We, the Ministers of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), having met on 5
th December 2013 
in Bali, Indonesia, on the occasion of the 9th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade 
Organization to reiterate  the common position of the Group of LLDCs on the Multilateral Trading 
System, especially on the framework of the ne gotiations of the Doha Development Agenda,  
 
Recalling  the Asuncion Platform for the Doha Development Round, adopted at the Meeting of 
Ministers of Landlocked Developing Countries Responsible for Trade on 10 August 2005 in Asuncion, Paraguay which articulates the common position of the Landlocked Developing countries 
for the ongoing negotiations of the Doha Development Round, 
 Recalling the Almaty Declaration and the Almaty Programme of Action: Addressing the Special 
Needs of Landlocked Developing Countries within a New Global Framework for Transit Transport 
Cooperation for Landlocked and Transit Developing  Countries, adopted in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 
2003, 
 
Recalling  also the Almaty Ministerial Communique adopted at the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of 
Trade of LLDCs held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on  12 September 2012, which stressed that with a 
view to mitigating the adverse development impa ct of landlockedness, comprehensive, coherent 
and coordinated policies are needed at all levels in the areas of investment, trade facilitation, 
infrastructure, in particular transport, telecommunications, energy, and technology to support efforts of LLDCs, 
 
Recalling  also the Ministerial Communiqué adopted at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Group of 
LLDCs held in New York on 30 September 2013, which, among other issues, underscores the 
importance of an early adoption of a balanced Agreement on Trade Facilitation; and calls for a 
development friendly solution to the current impasse in the Doha Development  Round of trade 
negotiations that could open the way for a successful and ambitious conclusion  with: increased market  access; operationally effective principles of special and differential treatment for 
developing countries; the parallel elimination of all forms of export subsidies; and substantial 
reductions in trade-distorting domestic support.  
Have adopted the following Ministerial Communiqué: 
 
1. We call upon the WTO membership to strengthen the negotiation function of WTO and 
to reinvigorate work towards a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round, 
w i t h  m e a n i n g f u l  o u t c o m e s  f o r  L L D C s .  T h i s  w i l l  b e  a n  i m p o r t a n t  t o o l  t o  i n c r e a s e  our market access and diminish trade distortive measures which can contribute to accelerating economic growth and achieving socially inclusive development. 
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  2. We regret that even after tremendous e fforts the membership could not finalize a 
package for Ministers’ consideration prior to this Conference. We believe that the 
adoption of a small set of outcomes would have been an important first step towards 
achieving fair and development-oriented trade rules in the context of the Doha 
Development Round. Nonetheless, we express our readiness to continue constructively 
working towards strengthening the negotiation function of WTO and the delivery of outcomes in the context of the Doha Deve lopment Programme, especially for LLDCs.  
 
3. We insist that the post Bali programme should be ambitious aiming at a prompt 
conclusion of the Doha Development Round, and it should have a clear road map towards achieving this objective. 
 
4. Furthermore we stress that it is extremely important within the framework of the WTO 
that special attention should be given to the concerns and needs of LLDCs in order to 
increase their participation in the Multilateral Trading System. For this reason, we 
underscore the need to have a specific recognition of the Group of LLDCs in the WTO. This has been a consistent call from our Group and was already stated in various 
communiqués, as at the occasions of the Cancun and Hong Kong WTO Ministerials. 
 
5. Taking into account that some elements of the Trade Facilitation negotiations are 
consistent with the LLDCs agenda, we call upon members to continue to provide 
technical, financial and capacity building assistance to LLDCs, on a sustainable basis, 
for the effective implementation of the future Agreement, once adopted. We count on the constructive cooperation of transit countries for the effective and early application 
of disciplines that contribute to reducing transit time and costs, simplifying procedures 
and enhancing certainty in trans-border trade. 
 
6. We call upon transit countries to show the necessary flexibilities in finding effective 
solutions to transit-related obstacles faced by landlocked developing countries. Such solutions, including national treatment for goods in transit, would help better integrate LLDCs into the global trading system. 
 
7. Agriculture is of critical importance to the LLDCs economies. The continuation of the 
reform process in order to promote market access; reduction of distortive domestic 
support measures, especially in developed countries; the total elimination of all forms 
of export subsidies; and the promotion of fair rules for the cotton-sector will constitute an important tool for the promotion of economic activities and food security in 
developing countries. In this regard, the LLDCs underscore the need for a meaningful 
outcome on agriculture as contained in the Doha Declaration, the July package and in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. However, in this context, we support the progress achieved for the adoption of a minimum package in agriculture as a first step 
to correct the historic imbalances in this area. 
 
8. The principle of Special and Differentia l (S&D) treatment constitutes the most 
significant component of the development dimension of the WTO Agreements. We 
believe that the reaffirmation of this principle should be an integral part of any package and of the works of this organizati on. Therefore, we call for the strengthening 
of this principle in order to make it more precise, effective and operational. 
 
9. LLDCs should be provided with greater flexibility to pursue policy options crucial for 
sustainable development and to better inte grate them into the multilateral trading 
system. Special and differential treatment should be accorded to landlocked developing 
countries to compensate for their geographical disadvantages which erode their competitive edge in the global market.  
 
10. We reiterate our request that development assistance provided in the context of the 
Aid for Trade initiative should give adequate consideration to the special needs and 
requirements of LLDCs.  
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  11. Areas of targeted support should include capa city building for the formulation of trade 
policies, participation in trade negotiations, implementation of trade facilitation measures and international agreements, investment into infrastructure for transport, upgrading of information and communication technologies and utilities and 
strengthening of productive capacities with a view to increasing the competitiveness of 
our products in export markets. Aid for tr ade should be provided to LLDCs on an 
additional, predictable and sustainable basis. 
 
12. During the accession process of LLDCs to the WTO, Members should take into account 
the individual levels of development, the special needs and problems caused by the geographical disadvantage of being landlocked. As such, the accession process for 
landlocked developing countries should be further simplified and be provided with 
adequate technical and financial assistance. All provisions on Special and Differential Treatment reflected in the GATT and in all WTO agreements must be effectively 
granted to all acceding LLDCs. 
 
13. We call on and encourage all LLDCs to accede and sign the Multilateral Agreement for 
the Establishment of an International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries, 
in order to bring it into the full operatio n for the benefits of all LLDCs members. 
 
14. We call upon WTO members and international organizations for their support for 
developing a new, more comprehensive, common action-oriented framework for the 
next decade. 
 
15. In this context, we stress the importance of adopting development policies and 
strategies to address transport and transit constraints, and to tap opportunities to achieve value addition, industrialization, diversification and a reduction of vulnerability 
and commodity dependence of our economies. In that sense, we emphasize the need 
for structural diversification, especially in productive transformation, plus easy access to global and regional value chains as most suitable alternative tools to promote better integration of our countries into the global economy.   
 
We express our sincere appreciation to the government of Indonesia and its people for their warm hospitality and for hosting the 9
th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali successfully. 
 
 
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