WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CFMC/W/47 
10 November 2008 
 
 (08-5443) 
 Original:   French 
  
 
DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 
MECHANISM ON COTTON 
 
Communication from Mali
 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 7 November 2008, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Mali.  
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STATEMENT BY HE MR AHMADOU ABDOULAYE DIALLO, 
MINISTER OF THE ECONOMY, INDUSTRY AND TRADE 
OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALI, AT THE 10TH ROUND 
OF THE CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 
MECHANISM ON COTTON  
 
 Mr Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Excellencies, 
Honourable Delegates, 
Representatives of bilateral partners, Representatives of development agencies,  1. Allow me first of all to express warmest thanks to the WTO Director-General for organizing 
this meeting of the Consultative Framework Mechanis m on Cotton.  Since I was in Geneva on official 
business at this time of the year, I am sure you will understand that I wanted to take the opportunity to 
attend. 
2. Concerning the agenda which will address the trade and development aspects of cotton, 
I should like to take the floor to share our feelings about the resumption of the multilateral trade negotiating process following the stalemate reached at  the mini-ministerial meeting, which it was 
agreed at the time to present as a failure. 
3. As everybody knows, this is the first time sinc e the July Mini-Ministerial that WTO Members 
have gathered to address the cotton issue.  You w ill recall the appropriately strong terms in which my 
colleague and friend Mamadou Sanou, Trade Minister  of Burkina Faso, voiced the disappointment of 
the C-4 and the other 32 African cotton-producing countries, when the cotton issue had not even been 
broached after nine days of G7 talks. 
4. It might have been assumed that such a regr ettable outcome would prompt our countries to 
decide to withdraw and refrain from participating in  the process as it resumed.  Admittedly, this most 
unfavourable climate arose against the backdrop of the critical food crisis that had broken out a few 
months before, further compounded by the unfortunate  consequences of the oil crisis.  Since then, a WT/CFMC/W/47 
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  third crisis, more acute still and fa r more deleterious than the first two, has hit financial markets 
worldwide, bearing witness to how fragile globali zation still is in these incipient years of the 
twenty-first century.  Legitimate concerns are growing all over the world, in developed and 
developing countries alike.  The developing countri es and especially the most vulnerable among them 
are now wondering how the aftermath of this unpr ecedented financial turmoil may possibly affect 
them. 
5. Hence, we cannot but support the measures that have already been taken and those currently 
being implemented at various levels  in order to contain the effects of this crisis.  We welcome the 
convening of the G20 summit, which will include em erging economies, in Washington next week, in 
order to reform the architecture of the Bretton Wood s international financial system.  We have high 
hopes that this important meeting will lead to a new consensus taking more effective and extensive 
account of flexibility requirements in favour of development. 
6. The matters which give us cause for concern and which you are focusing on today are in fact 
common knowledge.  Everything has been said since Ma y 2003 on the stakes of both the trade and the 
development aspects of the Sectoral Initiative in Fa vour of Cotton.  In July 2004, a series of tough 
discussions led the WTO Membership as a whole to deci de that henceforth the cotton issue had to be 
addressed "ambitiously, expeditiously, and specifi cally".  That commitment was, as you know, 
reaffirmed in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration of December 2005. 
7. In order to show just how firmly our countri es were engaged in the negotiating process, we 
spelt out our requirements, which are those of mill ions of farmers and their families, in proposed 
modalities as of 1 March 2006, that is, four mont hs after Hong Kong, and these were completed in 
June 2007.  As part of the process, the C-4 also  held numerous consultati ons under various formats 
with the main stakeholders in the issue, namely the United States, the European Union and Brazil.  
Many quadrilateral negotiating sessions have been taking place on a regular basis, with Ambassador 
Falconer acting as moderator and facilitator. 
8. We strongly reaffirm our conviction that  our economies are capable of achieving 
development through cotton, on condition that th e underlying trade policy problems are resolved. 
9. Turning to the subject of trade, I shall merely  recall the following guiding principles in the 
current negotiations: 
(a) The negotiating base must fulfil the criteria in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration 
to address the cotton issue ambitiously, expeditiously, and specifically; 
(b) the solution to the cotton issue must be based  on a systemic approach, with, of course, 
clear and precise figures to finalize the outcomes; 
(c) an ambitious outcome, in keeping with the Hong Kong decision, must have an impact 
on the subsidy policies of the countries con cerned and the international cotton market. 
10. Failing an ambitious outcome on cotton with a re al impact on the international cotton market, 
the C-4 intends to avail itself of each and every possi ble recourse, for what is at stake is defending the 
interests of millions of African cotton producers.  However, we remain trustful of our partners' 
goodwill and continue to believe that, in these ne gotiations, they will apply the principles they 
advocate all over the world. 
11. On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly urgent to complete the Doha Round by 
translating the promised Development Agenda into  concrete terms.  The WTO Members that most 
want to see a swift conclusion to the Round are obviously the C-4 countries, the LDCs, the African  WT/CFMC/W/47 
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  Group and the ACP Group.  This is the only way finally to secure if not a complete elimination, then 
at least a significant reduction in international ma rket-distorting subsidies.  If we do not succeed, the 
risk is that we shall shortly become the powerl ess witnesses of a tragic break-up of the cotton sector. 
12. I now turn towards Ambassador Crawford Falconer, Chair of the Doha Round Trade 
Negotiations Committee responsible for agriculture a nd cotton, to whom I would like to express the 
C-4 and African Group's high regard for the exemplary way in which he continues to play his role as 
moderator and facilitator.  In th is negotiating Round, we  consider Mr Falconer as a reference point 
with skills, an ability to listen and also a personal dedication that are keeping intact the credibility of 
this Doha Development Agenda whic h is still in the making.  Today, we assure him once more of our 
unreserved readiness to assist and support him in his task. 
13. I might add that we Ministers of Trade are highly satisfied with the selfless and insightful 
approach taken by our ambassadors in conducting thei r work pursuant to the specific instructions we 
give them. 
14. I shall, of course, not fail to mention the Membership as a whole, which has supported the 
Sectoral Initiative without fail over the past five years and here, without wishing to sound offensive, 
I am thinking of the LDC, African a nd ACP Groups and the G20 in particular. 
15. As to the development aspects, they are, as we all know, an integral part of the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration.  Once again, we we lcome the WTO Director-General's Consultative 
Framework Mechanism on Cotton, which is now in its 10th round.  This exercise in transparency is 
proving its worth in showing not only the flows of development assistance for Africa's cotton industry 
but also the difficulties in mobilizing resources.  We  express renewed gratitude to all the development 
partners at bilateral, subregiona l, regional and continental level for their invaluable and numerous 
forms of support. 
16. Seeing the magnitude of our countries' needs,  a number of emerging developing countries 
took the remarkable initiative, as part of the dr ive to strengthen South-South cooperation, of 
organizing a seminar on South-Sout h cooperation for the development of the cotton sector, which was 
held on 22 November 2007.  This seminar gave African  countries generally and the C-4 in particular 
an opportunity to take note of the presentations made  by developing country institutions, including the 
private sector, on the wealth of experience acquire d in industrial and trade development.  These 
included presentations by Brazil, India, the People's Republic of China, Egypt, and the UNCTAD/WTO International Trade Centre.  We know full well that this new lever for cooperation is 
in its early stages, and we urge all these countries a nd others capable of contributing to join in this 
approach, as today there is a tendency for developing  countries to assume an international leadership 
role in this sector. 
17. As regards reforms within the cotton sector and related reforms in African countries, I think 
I can say that the need for such re forms is widely recognized on the continent.  All of the countries 
concerned, each according to its own domestic cont ext, are committed to and engaged in the process, 
with varying degrees of success.  Nevertheless, I w ould emphasize that the swiftness with which these 
often painful reforms are implemented may not be ma tched by, for example, the pace of change in 
international market rules or assistance for the cotton sector. 
18. All that being said, in a little while our ambassa dors and experts will go into the details of the 
two points I have just touched upon, that is, the st atus of assistance for the cotton sector, and progress 
regarding the various reforms under way. 
19. To conclude on this particular aspect, I am pleased to note that the 67
th plenary meeting of the 
International Cotton Advisory Committee due to ta ke place from 17 to 21 November in Ouagadougou WT/CFMC/W/47 
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  (Burkina Faso) will focus this year on technologies for cotton development.  We strongly encourage 
all interested players to take advantage of this major event. 
20. The last part of my statement concerns the need to maintain and strengthen the multilateral 
trading system, which 153 countries have built around the World Trade Organization.  I note that only nine out of 51 African countries are not yet Members of our Organization and that all nine of them 
have initiated their accession process.  There could be no more telling example of the continent's 
adherence to a multilateral system based on clear and precise rules, where decisions are taken by 
consensus.  Whilst we recognize the advantages of bilateralism, multilaterali sm has in turn proven 
how invaluable it is.  I take this opportunity to call upon WTO Members to ease their requirements on 
countries seeking accession, knowing that Africa is view ed as lagging far behind the other continents 
in terms of economic development. 
21. In these times of global economic turmoil, we would do well to consider the example of the 
WTO as we seek to resolve current difficulties or tackle difficulties to come, whether for the stability 
of the global financial system or the protection of our common environment. 
22. Lastly, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to  express sincere congratulations to the 
highest-ranking official in this Organization, Mr Pascal  Lamy, to his invaluable colleagues, and to the 
Secretariat staff as a whole for their willingness, dedication and well known professionalism. 
23. To conclude, my delegation wishes this statement to be circulated to Members as an official 
document of the World Trade Organization. 
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