RESTRICTED  
  
TN/AG/GEN/41  
TN/AG/SCC/GEN/16  
 
9 December 2016  
(16-6742) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Agriculture  
Spec ial Session  
Sub-Committee on Cotton  Original: French  
 
WTO NEGOTIATIONS ON AGRICULTURE  
Communicat ion from the co -sponsors of the  
Sectoral Initiative  in Favour of Cotton1 
The following communication, dated 30 November  2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favo ur of Cotton.  
 
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BAMAKO MINISTERIAL DECLARATION ON COTTON  
We, the Trade Ministers of the four co -sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton at the 
World  Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva (C4), on the occasion of the regular C4 coordinat ion 
meeting held in Bamako (Mali) from 26 to 28  October  2016,  
 
Deeply concerned  with the distorting effects of domestic support, of export subsidies and of any 
other forms of cotton subsidies with equivalent effects granted by certain WTO Members;  
 
Recalli ng that this support and these subsidies distort prices on the world cotton market, 
resulting in the pauperization of the  millions of cotton producers in the least developed countries 
(LDCs), in the countries of Africa in general, and in the countries co -sponsoring the 
Sectoral  Initiative in Favour of Cotton (C4) in particular;  
 
Stressing  the vital importance of cotton to the economies and populations of a number of African 
cotton producing countries;  
 
Recalling  the Ministerial Decisions on cotton adopted o n 1 August  2004 in Geneva and on 
18 December  2005 in Hong Kong calling for the cotton issue to be addressed "ambitiously, 
expeditiously and specifically";  
 
Recalling  our N'Djamena appeal of 16  November  2005, our subsequent Ouagadougou 
declarations of 20  June 2006 and 6  September  2007, and the Bali Ministerial Declaration of 
7 December  2013 on cotton;  
 
Recalling  the conclusions and observations formulated at the close of the different sessions of the 
WTO Director -General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on  Cotton in Geneva;  
 
Recalling  the interim results on cotton in Decision WT/MIN(l5)/4 6, dated 19  December  2015, of 
the WTO Ministerial Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 15 to 1 8 December  2015;  
 
Following  with great attention and interest the post Nair obi negotiations at the WTO,  
 
Hereby declare the following:  
 
                                                
1 Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad.  TN/AG/GEN/41 • TN/AG/SCC/GEN/16  
 
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  1. We acknowledge the outcomes of the Tenth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC10) held 
in Nairobi from 15 to 18  December  2015, in particular the Ministerial Decision on 
Cotton put forward by the C4;  
 
2. We consider that these outcomes represent a stage in the negotiations on cotton;  
 
3. We launch an urgent appeal to WTO Members, and in particular the developed 
countries that create distortions on the international market by granting domestic 
support a nd subsidies, to strive for further progress in the work on cotton with a view 
to achieving the objectives established for this vital issue;  
 
4. We emphasize the need to ensure coherence between the trade and development 
aspects of the cotton issue, in par ticular by providing technical assistance and building 
capacity in the sector;  
 
5. We therefore invite the development partners, both bilateral and multilateral, to 
support the integrati ve and multidimensional regional and continental project that 
constitu te the "Route du coton" (Cotton Road);  
 
6. We once again express our confidence in our negotiators in Geneva, and at the same 
time give them a fresh mandate to pursue the negotiations on cotton with a view to 
achieving the objective of total elimination of  all forms of distortions in the 
international cotton trade in order to ensure the development of the cotton sector in 
our countries;  
 
7. We urge our technical and financial partners to contribute to the implementation of 
integrative  programmes and project s that could promote the  production, processing 
and marketing of cotton and its by -products in accordance with the development 
component of the MC 10 Ministerial Decision on Cotton;  
 
8. We express  our readiness to continue the reforms under way in the cotto n sector in 
our countries, and commend the negotiating teams of our permanent missions in 
Geneva for the work they have done;  
 
9. We remain  committed to working towards a conclusion to  the Doha Round of 
negotiations, taking account of the concerns of devel oping countries, and more 
particularly those of the LDCs, which include several African countries.  
 
Done at Bamako on 27  October  2016 
 
For Benin  
 
 
 
Mr Lazare Maurice SEHOUETO  
Minister for Industry, Commerce  
and Crafts  For Mali  
 
 
Abdel Karim KONATE  
Minister for Commerce  
 
 
For Burkina Faso  
 
Monsieur Nazaire PARE  
p.p. Minister for Trade  
Industry and Crafts   
 
For Chad  
 
Mr Mahamat Hamid KOUA  
Minister for Industrial and Commercial  
Development and Private  
Sector Promoti on 
 
_______________  TN/AG/GEN/41 • TN/AG/SCC/GEN/16  
 
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MOTION OF THANKS TO MR  ROBERTO AZEVÊDO, DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
We, the Trade Ministers of the four co -sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton (C4), 
on the occasion of the regular coordination meeting ta king place in Bamako (Mali) from 
26 to 28 October  2016;  
 
Express  our sincere thanks to Mr  Roberto Azevêdo, Director -General of the WTO, for having 
accepted to honour us with his presence at this C4 ministerial coordination meeting on recent 
cotton -related issues, ten months after the Ministerial Conference in Nairobi ; 
 
Reaffirm  our profound gratitude for the tireless efforts you are making, as Chairman of the 
Director -General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton, to ensure that African cotton 
produc ers derive greater gains from their activities;  
 
Note  with satisfaction that since your arrival at the helm  of our O rganization, significant progress 
has been made on many of the issues under discussion at the WTO, including those related 
to cotton ; 
 
Comme nd the instrumental role you played in the Doha Round negotiations, as a negotiator for 
your country, in seeking to liberalize the cotton market in accordance with WTO principles;  
 
Appreciate  your leadership, which resulted in the Nairobi Ministerial Decis ion on facilitating 
market access and eliminating export subsidies for cotton and cotton by -products;  
 
Note  that this Ministerial Decision is an important stage in the lengthy process of finding 
definitive, fair and equitable solutions to all other outstan ding issues, including those relating to 
the reduction, or indeed elimination, of trade -distorting domestic support;  
 
Welcome  your commitment to building capacity in developing countries in general, and African 
countries in particular, with a view to facil itating their integration into the multilateral trading 
system and ensuring that they are able to defend their interests in trade negotiations; and  
 
Request  your support to ensure the diligent implementation of the Decisions of the 10th WTO 
Ministerial Con ference and the action plan resulting from the Bamako meeting, most notably the 
"Route du Coton" (Cotton Road) project.  
 
 
Bamako, 27  October  2016  
 
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