. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/23 
14 December 2005 
 (05-5982) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
PAKISTAN 
 
Statement by HE Mr Humayun Akhtar Khan
  
Minister for Commerce  
  
 I am very pleased and honoured to have th is opportunity to speak before such a
 distinguished 
gathering.  First of all I would like to thank th e Government of Hong Kong, China, for hosting this 
Conference and for making excellent arrangements.   I would also like to thank Amb. Amina 
Mohammed, Chair of the General Council and Mr Pascal Lamy, DG (WTO) and Chair of the  Trade 
Negotiating Committee, for presenting us with a Draft Mini sterial text.  It is for the first time that we 
have had a Ministerial Text, which represents the ne w "bottom-up" approach.  This text reflects a high 
degree of convergence, even though it does not represent an overall agreement. 
 
 Although this draft will help establish a good negotiating atmosphere, yet making major 
advances in negotiations may not be possible on its ba sis alone.  The text would need to be augmented 
to help us finalize "modalities" and we may have  to wait for another opportunity to do so.   
  So much is at stake here in Hong Kong th at it is imperative that the process be moved 
forward, so that our negotiators can reach the "66 per cent" target within weeks of this Conference, 
and our objective of completing the Round in 2006 does not falter.  Any further postponement of the 
Round would have serious consequences, and we risk  losing this opportunity.  We may therefore be 
held responsible for failing to lift millions out of  poverty and for depriving the world economy of 
potential gains of hundreds of billions of dollars.  
 Let us reflect on our strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and possible threats to 
progress in negotiations - the so-called SWOT analysis.  Our strength is that we all want further trade 
liberalization.  We all believe in the Doha Ma ndate, even if we've recalibrated our ambition for 
Hong Kong.  We have within our reach agreement on  two out of three pillars in agriculture, namely 
domestic support and export competition.  On cott on, we are all committed to an ambitious and 
expeditious result and with some flexibility from a major economy, we can have an early harvest. 
  In Non-Agriculture Market Access (NAMA), we have moved closer and the fact that we all now agree to the use of a Swiss formula is a major st ep forward.  Similarly, in trade facilitation, we 
have made enough progress and we have an agr eed text for working towards an agreement. 
 
 Our major weakness is the wi de divergence in the remaining pillar of agriculture - market 
access.  Without major progress in this area, the ambition of the whole Round may be seriously undermined.   An estimated 90 per cent of gains would resu lt from ambitious cuts in tariffs, according to 
studies done by the World Bank and other researchers. 
 WT/MIN(05)/ST/23 
Page 2  
 
  Of course any advance in market access in agri culture must be matched by progress in market 
access for services and non-agricultural goods.  What  we do need to avoid at this stage is 
brinkmanship.  We all need to show our hands to make parallel progress in all areas.  We may have 
different strategies, but it will be good to keep in  mind our common agenda - the one we adopted at 
Doha. 
 
 We have a long way to go on services, rules and ot her areas.  We must not forget that if we 
are true to the concept of a development round, we  have to be aware that  the greatest gains for 
developing countries lie in liberalization of Mode 4 - the movement of natural persons.  Any progress 
in services negotiations without any movement in th is important area would be considered a reverse 
special and differential treatment for developed countries. 
  While we acknowledge that negotiations on anti-dumping, s ubsidies and regional trade 
agreements have  intensified and deepened, we have to ensu re that negotiations in these areas keep 
pace with the rest.  We are all aware how protecti onist lobbies can subvert elimination of unfair trade 
barriers. 
  After having spoken about the strengt hs and weaknesses in major areas of  our negotiations, 
let me turn to opportunities that are available.  Despite lack of sufficient progress, I am still an 
optimist.  I feel that we have
 a unique opportunity to succeed since we have an enabling environment 
to do so.  This opportunity is created through our unanimous wish to achieve the Millennium 
Development Goals by 2015.  It is clear that trade is an essential ingredient for achieving those goals.  
In fact, one of the goals requires the devel opment of an open, rule-based, predictable and 
non-discriminatory trading system.  This is precise ly the aim of the Doha Development Agenda.  
Fortunately, for the first time through coherent pr ogrammes such as "Aid for Trade" serious efforts 
are being made to ensure that benefits from a  multilateral system accrue to everyone. 
 
 We should also be cautious of threats that may turn our success into failu re.  The major threat 
is that we may end up agreeing to a least common denominator result.  This would be unfortunate.  In such a scenario there would not be many gains for all of  us to share.  Of course, the main objective of 
the Round i.e., development would suffer the most.  
 Finally, I would like to reiterate the importan ce of our key objective of development for this 
Round.  While this word may have different meani ngs for different people, for us "development" is 
synonymous with the end of discrimination agains t developing countries.  If  exporters from rich 
countries pay 1-2 per cent tariffs on their exports, whereas exporters from developing countries have 
to pay many times more, it is sp ecial and differential treatment for exporters from the rich countries -
 
through free trade agreements, we have further accentu ated such discriminatory practices.  We have to 
ensure the same rules for all.  Ever since the creation of the WTO, we have been moving the world 
trading system from a MFN (Most Favoured Nation)  to LFN (Least Favoured Nation) philosophy.  
This is marginalizing poorer countries and destabilizing them.   In conclusion, I would urge all Ministers to ma ke every effort to move the process forward.  
A successful conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda can bring gains that are many times 
greater than all development assist ance.  Our success here will be a key factor to putting us on the 
right track to achieve the Millennium Development Go als.  Our success or failure will have such wide 
geopolitical implications that we cannot afford to let this opportunity slip. 
 
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