WT/MIN(13)/ST/62  
5 December 2013  
(13-6732)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Ninth Session 
Bali, 3-6 December 2013  Original: English  
 
STATEMENT BY THE HON. USMAN BOIE KAMARA 
MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY 
SIERRA LEONE 
Sierra Leone would like to express its gratitude to the Government and people of Indonesia for 
hosting this Conference and for the generous hospitality that it has accorded to delegates. My delegation would also like to thank the Director General of WTO, Mr Roberto Azevêdo for his untiring efforts to ensure the successful conclusion of this Conference.   
 
It is a great pleasure and honour for me, to make this brief statement at this 9th WTO Ministerial Conference, assembled in Bali today, on behalf of the government and people of the Republic of 
Sierra Leone.  
 As a member of WTO, Sierra Leone shares the common objective to demonstrate the importance 
of the Multilateral Trading System, which governs gl obal trade, and the inclusiveness offered by it, 
as well as the need to keep it alive and strengthen it.    Without this system, its fairness and transparency , we risk being excluded from the integration 
process with severe consequences for LDC’s development agendas. That is precisely why I would 
like to express the concern of Sierra Leone  over the lack of progress on most of the issues of the 
Doha Development Agenda, which undermines the aspiration of LDCs and perpetuates poverty.  
 
Sierra Leone has been recovering from conflict over the past decade. Our aspiration is to achieve middle-income status by 2035. Our vision, as reflected in our recently launched Agenda for 
Prosperity 2013-2017  is strongly linked to trade for growth and development. A key element of 
this Agenda is to build a stable and diversified economy, founded on private sector-led growth and 
competitiveness.   
In relation to the proposed Bali package, Sierra Leone would like to make the following 
observations.   
First and foremost, the Trade Facilitation Agreement would offer Sierra Leonean and foreign 
enterprises benefits, in terms of reduced time and costs to import into or export from our country. However, we would need considerable investment in infrastructure services, such as transport, 
power supply and telecommunications, in order to ensure an enabling environment for us to reap 
the full benefits of this Agreement. Sierra Leone is heartened by the flexibilities accorded to LDCs in this Agreement.  
In addition, Sierra Leone notes the component of the package on Agriculture. Agreeing on these 
provisions would allow us to move on with the more substantive issues related to Agriculture as contained in the Doha Development Agenda.   
 
Furthermore, Sierra Leone would like to acknowle dge the significance of the LDC package that has 
been negotiated in Geneva, in preparation for this Conference. This package, even if it does not 
fully meet our expectations, in terms of coverage and commitments, could still be beneficial to us, 
and would serve as a stepping stone for continued engagement in the context of the Doha Development Agenda.    WT/MIN(13)/ST/62 
 
- 2 - 
 
  Finally, to this end, Sierra Leone calls for the conc lusion of this Bali package, which has been put 
on the table, so that we can continue with the main business of further establishing a fair and inclusive multilateral trading system, which allows each one of us to fully utilise its comparative advantage, for the benefit of sustainable long term development.  
 
Reaping the benefits from WTO membership does not come automatically. Sierra Leone continues to be in need of trade related capacity building to address shortcomings in the public and private 
sector institutions. In this regards, Sierra Leone appreciates the Aid for Trade agenda including the 
Enhanced Integrated Framework. This Framework ha s assisted us over the years to formulate and 
implement sound trade-related policies, strategies and projects.   
We support a continued role of EIF in leveraging funds to meet the challenges of integrating with 
the global trading system. In addition, the EIF could be instrumental in meeting the commitments flowing from the Bali package, especially in the area of Trade Facilitation.  
 
In conclusion, my delegation would like to stre ss that we need to preserve and strengthen the 
Multilateral Trading System. But it would need to deliver concrete and convincing results. The 
Doha Development Agenda has been under negotiation for much too long.  It is now time to give it 
some impetus. Sierra Leone believes that in order to identify the bottlenecks that have hitherto hampered progress, and to identify ways and mean s to move it forward, a close and transparent 
examination needs to be made. It is in this connection that my delegation calls on this Conference 
to recommend steps in this direction.  
 A longer term development perspective should be aimed at ensuring inclusiveness and a more 
beneficial multilateral trading system, offering opportunities to all, including the least privileged 
countries.   
The world stands at the crossroads of history. Th rough trade, we can transform the lives of people 
throughout the world. Developed countries have a duty to their people to ensure that resources are not wasted. Developing countries have a duty also to lift their people from abject poverty. To meet both objectives, we need to engage each ot her with honesty, transparency and flexibility.  
 
__________