. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/11 
14 December 2005 
 (05-5934) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
THAILAND 
 
Statement by HE Dr Uttama Savanayana
 
Vice Minister of Commerce  
   It is truly an honour for me to address this C onference.  On behalf of Thailand, I thank our 
host, Hong Kong – China, for the excellent arrangements and warm hospitality.  We, the 
149 WTO Members, gather here with the opportunity to make a real difference in the global trading 
system, and through it, the livelihood of the peoples we represent.   Four years have passed since Doha.  Although there has been certain progress, we know that a 
great deal has yet to be achieved as impasses remain in several key areas.  This week in Hong Kong, 
we face two choices:  either we succeed in subs tantially moving forward our mandate, or we flounder 
and add to the prevailing uncertainties.  The eyes of  the world are on this Conference and people will 
judge us by the choice we make.  For Thailand, we pr efer the first choice.  This is because we still 
firmly believe in the WTO and its ability to help create real opportunities for all peoples – 
opportunities for a better life, opportunities for sustained prosperity and deliverance from poverty.  
 As such, this Conference needs to produce a balan ced outcome agreeable to all.  To do so, we 
must work together with a heightened sense of mutu al understanding and flexib ility.  We have diverse 
socio-economic structures and thus  different emphases on trade and de velopment.  But it is up to us, 
developed and developing WTO Members, to achieve  the right balance of our interests and move 
ahead.  
 For Thailand, we place the utmost emphasis on Agriculture
.  While many of us, especially 
developing countries, continue to acquire higher de grees of industrialization, the livelihood of the 
great many, if not the majority of our peopl es is still dependent upon the agricultural sector.  
Therefore, Thailand believes successful outcome s of this WTO Round will require that we 
comprehensively address the needs and well-being of the people in this sector.  It will be crucial for us 
to agree on real improvement in market access and reductions and or elimina tion of trade-distorting 
support.   With agreements on the agricultural sector, it w ill be possible to make important advances in 
the non-agricultural sectors.  We support flexible  guidance to ensure the quality of negotiated 
commitments.  We also want to see discussion in tensified on key issues such as the underpinning 
rules and disciplines.  A clear direction should be set to promote fairer and more predictable trade 
disciplines and avoid backdoor protectionism.   Last but not least, we must together ensure th at all negotiated agreements faithfully reflect the 
development dimension, and that they will assist  developing countries to better integrate into the 
global trading system. 
 WT/MIN(05)/ST/11 
Page 2  
 
  Today, the fate of the Doha Round and the credibility of the WTO is in our hands.  If it 
requires each of us to take a step back in order to move forward together then let us do it.  If it needs 
our political will to break through then let us have the courage to commit.  It is the time to deliver 
results.  Let us do our best to achieve them here in Hong Kong.  Thank you. 
 
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