WT/MIN(15)/ST/64  
21 December 2015  
(15-6795)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015  Original: English  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MS MABINTY DARAMY 
MINISTER 
SIERRA LEONE 
It is a great pleasure and honour for me, on behalf of the Government and people of Sierra Leone, 
to make a brief statement at this 10th WTO Ministerial Conference. Let me begin by joining previous speakers to congratulate the WTO Secr etariat and the Government and people of Kenya 
for successfully organizing the MC10.  I salute the WTO on its 20th anniversary and reaffirm its 
importance in ensuring an open, rules based mu ltilateral trading system, and that developing 
countries and LDCs among them, secure an increasi ng share in the growth of world trade in line 
with their economic development needs and aspirations. 
 
We are gathered here in Nairobi to ensure me aningful deliverables on the Doha Development 
Agenda (DDA).  It is a challenge that we must all rise to. Although the DDA negotiations have 
been going for over 14 years, it is clear now that the deliverables that may be possible in Nairobi 
are significantly smaller than those expected by  the Membership at the time when the DDA was 
launched. Recent developments provide a clear indication that the DDA cannot be concluded 
without delivering on the cornerstone issue of development including LDC priorities.  
 
I would like to use this opportunity to highlight Sierra Leone`s position on the key deliverables at this Nairobi Ministerial Conference as follows: 
 
• Prioritization of issues of concern to LDCs, as  elaborated in previous ministerial sessions and 
the July Framework,  as well as by the international community at the 4th UN Conference on Least 
Developed Countries.  These are in particular: 
 
1. Duty free and quota free market access (DFQF) with the accompanying simplified and 
transparent preferential rules of origin 
2. An ambitious and expeditious outcome on cotto n in the three pillars of market access, 
domestic support and export competition 
3. The services waiver 
4. Agreement specific special and differential treatment Proposals 
5. A meaningful outcome on agriculture on the basis of the Rev. 4 modalities 
6. Tightened disciplines on fisheries subsidies 
7. A permanent moratorium on Non-Violation and Situation Complaints under the TRIPS 
Agreement 
 I would like to welcome the recent decision of th e TRIPS Council to extend the transition period 
under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement with respect to pharmaceutical products and on the 
waivers from the obligations of Article 70. 8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement until 2032. 
 
I would further like to welcome our neighbour in West Africa, the Republic of Liberia, and our 
fellow LDC, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, into WTO membership and underscore the principle of accelerating accession procedures without imposing onerous concessions and 
commitments. 
 In regard to future work and a post-Nairobi agenda, Sierra Leone remains committed to a successful and multilateral conclusion of the DDA negotiations pursuant to paragraphs 45, 47 and 
48 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. Sierra Leone expects that special and differential treatment WT/MIN(15)/ST/64 
 
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  for developing countries, particularly LDCs, shall be an integral part of all future negotiations and 
shall be operationally effective as set out in paragraph 13 and 16 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. Sierra Leone expects that a Minister ial Declaration in three parts will be the main 
outcome documents of this ministerial conference.  And, in particular, it is our expectation that 
part III of the Ministerial Declaration will prioritize the continuation of the DDA negotiations.  
 Before I conclude, I would like to note the importance of the Enhanced Integrated Framework and 
the Aid for Trade initiative for LDCs in general and Sierra Leone in particular. As Sierra |Leone 
enters into the recovery phase from the Ebola Virus Disease, we face sizable trade constraints and lags in implementing effective policies to overcome domestic and cross-border trade barriers. High transport costs, poor infrastructure and an underd eveloped logistics services sector limit Sierra 
Leone’s ability to develop competitive value-added exports and raise the cost of imported goods. 
To this extent enhancing technical assistance and capacity building support to LDCs including through Aid for Trade remains crucial.  Providing transitional support under the EIF Phase 2 facility 
to countries like Sierra Leone that are at the en d of the Phase 1 process and are facing challenges 
to sustain the results achieved is also crucial.   
In all this Mr Chairman, I must commend the EIF Board (chaired by Sierra Leone) and the 
Executive Secretariat of the EIF in Geneva and the United Nations Office for Project Services 
(UNOPS) who have been working tirelessly with our country teams in this direction.    
While as an LDC we appreciate the Aid for Trade initiative, we must however, reiterate the need 
for additional, predictable and timely delivery of Aid for Trade resources, if the expected results are to be achieved.  
 
We are also of the view that for Aid for Trade to be meaningful and effective, actual focus should 
be on implementing programmes and projects both at country and regional level that can address 
the real capacity constraints of the LDCs, including, the building of productive capacities, trade 
facilitation and human resource development.  In conclusion, I must emphasize that while LDCs remain committed to the conclusion of the Doha 
Round of negotiations, any outcome must not be at the cost or the sacrifice of the just and 
legitimate development demands of LDCs.  
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