WT/MIN(15)/ST/30  
18 December 2015  
(15-6750)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015  Original: French  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR AZIZ MAHAMAT SALEH 
MINISTER OF THE ECONOMY, TRADE AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT OF CHAD, 
ON BEHALF OF THE FOUR CO-SPONSORS OF THE SECTORAL INITIATIVE 
IN FAVOUR OF COTTON (C4) 
CHAD 
On behalf of the four co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in favour of Cotton (C4), I should like 
first of all, to convey warm and fraternal greetings and congratulations from Their Excellences 
Mr Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA, President of the Republic of Mali, Mr Boni YAYI, President 
o f  t h e  R e p u b l i c  o f  B e n i n ,  M r  M i c h e l  K A F A N D O ,  T r a n s i t i o n a l  P r e s i d e n t  o f  B u r k i n a  F a s o  a n d  Mr Idriss Deby ITNO, President of the Republic of Chad, to His Excellency Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, 
President of the Republic of Kenya, and to the Kenyan Government and people for their 
remarkable organization and hosting of this first WTO Ministerial Conference on African soil.  
This is testimony to Africa's seriousness and know -how in organizing major events such as this, 
which will win the confidence of its partners.  I should also like to thank the Kenyan authorities most sincerely for the warm welcome extended 
to my delegation and to me since our arrival in your beautiful country, which has been so 
majestically shaped by man and nature.  
A look back at our Organization shows that it has deployed significant efforts over the past 
20 years. Thanks to those efforts, the bulk of the world's trade transactions are now covered by rules. A Dispute Settlement Body has been estab lished to settle trade disputes amongst Member 
Countries. 
 In adopting the Doha Round, the 2001 Qatar Ministerial Conference had engendered real hope among all Member states and especially among the less well-off ones. Today, the outcomes of 
these negotiations seem doubtful, as very scant progress has been made. 
 Yet we acknowledge that the WTO undoubtedly provides a framework for dialogue for all its 
Members, even though our Organization remains polarized between the countries of the South and 
North and continues to face disagreements that are becoming ever more crystallized and are therefore affecting world trade in goods and services. 
 
The negotiations on cotton have not made any significant headway and cotton remains an emblematic case that challenges all WTO Members to work towards finding a rapid solution.  
It should therefore be recalled that at its recent plenary meeting held in Delhi, India from 
7 to 11 December 2015, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) urged WTO Members to deal with the cotton dossier in an "ambitious, expeditious and specific" manner. The aim is to 
eliminate all government measures causing distortions in the production and trade of cotton. 
 On behalf of the C4 Group and of all African cotton producing and exporting countries, I should like 
sincerely to thank all our partners who have al ways believed in the cause of cotton and who 
support us in the negotiations for fairer  and more equitable international trade. 
 I take this opportunity to warmly congratulate the Chairperson of the Special Session of the 
Committee on Agriculture as well as our nego tiators in Geneva for their excellent work. WT/MIN(15)/ST/30 
 
- 2 - 
 
   
We nonetheless regret that 14 years of negotiations have still not yielded any significant outcome.  International trade statistics show that African cotton accounts for almost 70% of the export 
receipts of some countries, with local processing of no more than 2% of the output and 12% of 
world exports of this product. This is telling evid ence of the extreme fragility of the economies of 
these countries in the multilateral trading system. 
 
Despite limited progress on the cotton dossier, Afri can cotton producing and exporting countries in 
general and those of the C4 in particular remain bewildered and highly frustrated at the clear lack of will and even more so of political courage to settle this issue through trade channels.  
 
Yet we remain hopeful that this anniversary conference, which is a wonderful opportunity to give a powerful boost to multilateral trade, will make important and concrete decisions that will include 
the issue of cotton. 
 Given this major challenge, Chad cherishes the hope that all WTO Members will go the extra mile 
to give a particular character to this meeting in order to successfully wrap up the outstanding 
Doha Development Agenda issues while maintaining development as the focus of our work.  Nairobi should give concrete expression to this hope, so that we can prove to the pessimists that 
we are capable of reaching agreement and that membership in the WTO affords all Members new 
prospects of greater participation in the multilateral trading system.  
I should like to recall the consequences of the policy of subsidization for my country. It is plunging 
millions of families into poverty and unemployment, even as the lack of job opportunities is driving ever greater numbers of young people to leave Africa  in their thousands, risking their lives to seek 
a better future in Europe and throughout the world. Likewise, under-development constitutes a 
breeding ground for terrorism and insecurity.  I call on Members to show greater flexibility so as to ensure the success of our deliberations. 
 
__________