WT/MIN(15)/ST/97  
5 January 2016  
(16-0058)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015  Original: French  
 
  STATEMENT BY H.E. MR ALMA OUMAROU 
MINISTER OF TRADE 
NIGER 
Let me begin with the pleasant task of transmitti ng to H.E. Mr Uhuru Kenyata, President of the 
Republic of Kenya, and to the Government an d people of Kenya, the fraternal greetings 
of His Excellency Mr Issoufou Mahamadou, Presiden t of the Republic of Niger, and of expressing 
our gratitude for the way in which we were welcomed here in Nairobi and for the excellent 
arrangements surrounding this 10th WTO Ministerial Conference. At the same time, we extend our 
warmest congratulations to Liberia and Afghanistan for their accession to our Institution.  
Let me also commend Mr Roberto Carvalho Azevêdo, the WTO Director-General, for his energetic 
efforts to strengthen the World Trade Organization's role as a key institution and to achieve the noble objectives that have been set. 
 
We still recall the determination and courage with which he and his colleagues strove to ensure that the 9
th Ministerial Conference in Bali was a success. 
 
While the results of Bali fell short of the hopes inspired by the negotiations under the 
Doha Development Agenda (DDA), the Trade Facilitation Agreement seems to have provided the multilateral trading system with a new lease on life. 
 
We cannot but recognize, however, that a new climate of scepticism, or even pessimism, has descended on the WTO negotiations. While parallel negotiations forge ahead, notably the 
"mega-regionals", the negotiations under the DDA , in which our countries had placed genuine 
hope, are floundering.  I would like to recall, before this august assembly, that my country, Niger, is concerned about the 
current state of the negotiations on certain major DDA issues, in particular: 
 
- agriculture 
- cotton 
- special and differential treatment - the LDC package 
- food security 
 My country hopes above all that our work in Nairobi will bring significant progress to the least developed countries. 
 
We are convinced that the sustainability of the multilateral trading system depends on its ability to take account, among other things, of the major concerns of the LDCs. 
 
I can therefore assure you here today that Niger continues to support the positions expressed on behalf of the least developed countries, the African Group and the ACP countries, and that we call 
for greater flexibility on the issues that are still standing in the way of the collective progress we 
so urgently need to achieve.  WT/MIN(15)/ST/97 
- 2 - 
  We reaffirm the importance of the components of these negotiations, which is tantamount to 
expressing our hope that the Doha Development Agenda will be properly taken into account. The DDA provides countries like ours with the opportunity to further integrate themselves into the world economy, thereby affording them better prospects for inclusive and sustainable economic 
and social development. 
 To that end, I would like to welcome the efforts made under the Enhanced Integrated Framework 
programme as the only global Aid for Trade programme dedicated to the needs of the LDCs. 
 By adopting a Nairobi declaration containing concrete results in the form of binding commitments that take account of the priorities identified by  the LDCs, including a post-Nairobi programme on 
all the outstanding issues, we will be able to preserve our institution as a unique framework for 
multilateral trade negotiations.  
As regards special and differential treatment, the Nairobi Conference should afford the opportunity 
to complete the work programme as provided for in paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration in order to make the special and di fferential treatment provisions "more precise, 
effective and operational" in the WTO Agreements . In short, the Nairobi Conference cannot be 
a success for the African countries unless measures are adopted in the above areas.  To provide countries such as Niger, a landlocked country, with a tool that will enable them to 
strengthen their trade competitiveness, it is e ssential that Members which have not already done 
so should complete their ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
Finally, like many other countries, Niger has placed its hope on our reaching a consensus on all 
of the issues under consideration.  
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