WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/21 
14 December 2005 
 (05-5973) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
INDONESIA 
 
Statement by HE Dr Mari Elka Pangestu
 
Minister of Trade  
  
It is indeed a great pleasure and honour for me to be able to address the WTO Sixth 
Ministerial Conference in this "sunny and warm city " (to quote John Tsang) of Hong Kong.  First of 
all I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Government and people of 
Hong Kong for their very gracious hosting of this  event and for the warm and friendly hospitality 
extended to us.  I should also like to congratulate HE Mr John Tsang, Minister of Trade, Industry and 
Technology of Hong Kong, as Chairperson of this Conference, and assure him of our support in the 
deliberations ahead of us.  I am fully confident that his able leadership and the high spirit of 
cooperation that we share, will lead us to what we all came here for,  that is, as Mr Chairman himself 
aptly put as putting the "Doha Development Agenda firmly back on track". 
We have achieved a great deal of progress since the missed opportunities of the Cancun 
Ministerial Conference.  A few weeks after Cancun,  Indonesia and a diverse group of 20 Asia Pacific 
Members, called for a resumption of the WTO negotiati ons and called for there to be a spirit of strong 
political will and flexibility that will be urgently n eeded to move the negotiations toward a successful 
conclusion.  It is my hope that we still share this  same spirit in Hong Kong so that we can indeed 
achieve the desired progress towards realizing th e level of ambition we set out in the Doha 
Development Agenda. 
Let me remind all of you also, that Cancun prov ided an important lesson with regard to the 
ensuring that the WTO processes continue to be part icipatory and democratic so that the outcome of 
negotiations will be most beneficial to the lives of th e billions of people represented by the majority of 
Members.   
I am glad that you did not refer to our cu rrent process as the Doha Round or the Doha 
Mandate.  Some of us are referring to our process as Doha Round or Doha Mandate.  Let us never 
forget the middle D of DDA, Development.  This is the heart of the current negotiations and the 
"backbone of the Doha Round" to quote Pascal Lamy's  opening remarks.  I would like to respectfully 
request the Director-General to call it not th e Doha Round, but the Doha Development Round. 
What does it mean for Development to be at th e heart of the Doha Development Round?  For 
Indonesia, and many other developing countries it means a number of things. 
First it means that whilst we subscribe full y to the notion that trade is a means for 
development and that fundamental tr ade reforms will deliver development benefits, we also need to be 
very cognizant and realistic to the challenges faced  by developing countries in this process.  The focus 
cannot just be about trade reforms per se , it is about how we manage th e process of opening up that 
does not cause severe adjustment costs; the seque ncing of the process within a sector as well as 
between sectors; and that the development divide nd from trade reforms is not automatic, it must be WT/MIN(05)/ST/21 
Page 2  
 
 complemented by a program of capacity building th at addresses other policy and institutional changes 
that must accompany trade reforms. 
Second, given this basic premise it means that placing development in the centre of the Round 
as far as agriculture is concerned, implies real fundamental reform in ag ricultural trade, while 
addressing the concerns of developing countries.  Let me remind you that for a large number of 
developing countries, the majority of our populatio n is still engaged in the rural sector.  In Indonesia 
close to 50 per cent of our population are still engaged in  this sector.  Therefore, it is imperative that 
for sectors which are critical for food security, rura l livelihood and development, that is Special 
Products, to be treated differently.  It is also impor tant for us to have recourse to Special Safeguard 
Mechanisms when we face import price and volume shocks which can have an adverse effect on a 
large part of our population. 
Thirdly, while we support the Least Developed Co untries package, we mu st also ensure that 
Special and Differential treatment continues to be at the heart of the negotiations.  In the Uruguay 
Round, the issue of S&D was dealt with in an ad hoc wa y.  This time we must all work hard to ensure 
that S&D is an integral part of  negotiations, and be ma de operational and effec tive as mandated in the 
Doha Development Agenda.  In this context in agriculture this means a minimum package on S&D 
must include among others guaranteeing the diffe rent higher threshold for tariff reduction and 
adequate proportionality in the le vel of reduction commitment.  Developing countries much also be 
exempted from making commitments to reduce de minimis  support, either on a stand-alone basis or as 
part of reducing overall trade distorting support. 
As for market access for non-agricultural produc ts (NAMA), the Doha Mandate has clearly 
prescribed that negotiations on market access shoul d address tariff peaks, high tariffs and tariff 
escalation.  We fully agree on this and a lengthy  amount of time has been spent discussing these 
issues.  However, major differences still remain. 
What is actually at stake?  For developing c ountries such as Indonesia, the improved, secured 
and greater access to markets is a prerequisite for export oriented de velopment strategies.  Promoting 
the exports of non-oil and gas products is a top pr iory programme of our government in order to 
achieve sustainable growth and create jobs.  Howeve r, we must also recognize, given the importance 
of sequencing trade reforms, that developing countr ies still need a longer ti me frame to maintain a 
certain level of tariffs for policy space until such tim e their program of trade policy reforms combined 
with other complementary policies and institutional ch anges have been able to  work.  Remember it is 
about the sequencing of the trade re forms and thus, it is in line with the trade and development agenda 
as well as the S&D principle.  Seen in this cont ext, the idea mooted by developed members to 
drastically cut tariff levels is therefore not acceptable. 
On the issue of services, we wish to emphasi ze that such an agreement should not erode 
developing countries flexibilities or negate the policy space as carefully negotiated in the Uruguay 
Round.  The framework on services should allow developing countries to open up the sector that is at 
the pace that address their levels of development.  As with the other sectors, sequencing is important. 
Services liberalization must be undertaken in the c ontext of requisite changes in domestic institutions 
and regulations. 
Before concluding, let me express my deep appr eciation and thanks to all Members for having 
reached agreement on a permanent so lution on the issue of TRIPS and public health.  This agreement 
is not only of crucial importance to ensuring greater  access to affordable medicine for the many poor 
people in the developing world but also pertinent to  help us deal with the recent outbreaks of various 
communicable diseases.  Having said this, we must how ever, ensure that the agreed procedures do not 
hamper the effectiveness of this agreement in deliv ering the medicines to so many poor people in 
need.  WT/MIN(05)/ST/21 
 Page 3 
 
 
 Mr Chairman, may I once again stress the importance of fostering a spirit of cooperation and 
togetherness among WTO members in resolving and bridgi ng all divergences of views.  This surely is 
the best way of deriving the mutual benefits that we have come to expect from the Doha Development 
Agenda.  I am convinced that if this spirit can inspire this Conference, our debates will achieve a 
successful and balanced outcome.  My delegation a nd I, once again, urge all of us here and in 
particular those that have the largest stake in the global trading system and derive the biggest benefits, 
to make further meaningful contributions to  move the negotiations forward by and beyond 
Hong Kong. 
Finally, I would like to warmly welcome Saudi Arabia and Tonga as new members of this 
Organization.  Indonesia has no doubt that Tonga an d Saudi Arabia's participation will add significant 
weight to our efforts to hasten the greater prosperity and mutual benefits deriving from the 
multilateral trading system. 
 
__________