RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/SR/12 
6 February 2006 
 (06-0487) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005  
 
  
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE TWELFTH MEETING 
 
Held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, China
 
on Sunday, 18 December 2005, at 10 p.m.  
 
Chairperson :  Secretary John C Tsang (Hong Kong, China) 
  
Subjects
: 1. Action by Ministers (Agenda Item 4) 
  2. Date and venue of the Sevent h Session of the Ministerial Conference 
(Agenda Item 5) 
  3. Election of Officers (Agenda Item 6)   4. Closure of the Session  
 The Chairman
, prior to taking up the Agenda items for discussion, expressed his appreciation 
to all for the patience and the cooperative spirit they had shown over the past few days.  On behalf of 
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Pe ople's Republic of China, he said it had been 
an honour and a pleasure to have hosted the Sixth Session.  He offered his sincere thanks to the 
Director-General, all of the Ministers who had assisted him so ably as Facilitators and as Vice-
Chairpersons, the Chair of the General Council, th e Deputy Directors-General, the WTO Secretariat, 
and each of the Ministers and delegations repres enting their Governments at this Ministerial 
Conference for their hard work and patience over th e past six days.   He also wished to thank 
members of his host team for working diligently over the past 18 months in planning and organizing 
this conference.  He was truly grateful for the ex cellent work done.  The past six days had seen a 
tremendous amount of committed work by all delegati ons.  Throughout this process, he had done his 
utmost to ensure the fullest transparency and in clusiveness, and he was grateful for the spirit of 
cooperation and goodwill show n by all participants. 
 
1. Action by Ministers (Agenda Item 4) 
(a) Bananas 
 The Chairman  recalled that on 14 December, at the end of the formal Plenary meeting on 
Agenda Item 2(b) concerning the EU banana regime, he had concl uded the discussion by saying that 
he would reflect on possible next steps with interested delegations.  On 16 December, he had advised delegations that he had requested Minister Støre (N orway) to act as Facilitator on this matter, and that 
Minister Støre would therefore be available to re flect with interested delegations on possible next 
steps.  Accordingly, he invited Minister Støre to report on the outcome of the latter's discussions. 
  Minister Støre
 (Norway) recalled that, upon the request of the Chairman, he had accepted to 
serve as Facilitator with regard to the banana issue.   He had since then consulted widely with the 
interested parties and had listened to their views, in terests and considerations concerning this issue.  
During these conversations, he had appreciated fully the critical interest that so many nations attached 
to this issue and the importance for their economies, employment, culture and social structure.  Based WT/MIN(05)/SR/12 
Page 2  
 
  on these consultations, and although the views a nd positions among these nations varied, he had 
detected a broad interest among the Latin Americ an MFN nations to engage in discussions and 
negotiations with the European Commission on the ba nana issue.  Against this background, he had 
proposed to the Latin American MFN Members a nd the EC the establishment of a framework for 
political dialogue, analysis and negotiations on the ba nana issue.  Upon request, he had accepted to 
commit Norway to offer its good offices in the struct uring of this framework.  The role of Norway's 
good offices would be to convene and chair meetin gs and generally facilitate communications and 
negotiations, as well as to build trust among the parties,  with a view to facilitating mutually agreeable 
solutions to this very sensitive issue.  He added th at the parties' involvement in this framework was 
without prejudice to Members' procedural and s ubstantive rights and obligations under the WTO.  
Finally, he wished to say that he had also listene d extensively to the views and concerns of the ACP 
countries with an interest in the banana issue.  He had noted that the European Commission stood 
ready to undertake close dialogue also with this gro up of WTO Members.  He intended, on behalf of 
Norway, to invite the interested pa rties to a first session of this fram ework, and it would be up to the 
Members to consider this invitation.   
 
 The Chairman
 proposed that the Ministerial Conference take note of the statements and also 
take note that Minister Støre would continue to act as Facilitator following the Ministerial Conference.  As all knew, the banana issue had begun long before the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Conference and touched upon issues th at were broader than those addressed at this Conference.  He 
was therefore very pleased and grateful that Minister Støre had agreed to continue his good offices 
after the end of this Ministerial.  On behalf of the Ministerial Conference, he wished to thank the latter 
sincerely for his tireless efforts in Hong Kong and for his offer to follow through on this important 
matter.   The Ministerial Conference so agreed
. 
 
(b) Draft Ministerial Declaration (WT/MIN(05)/W/3/Rev.2) 
 The Chairman drew attention to the draft Ministerial Declaration that had been circulated in 
document WT/MIN(05)/W/3/Rev.2.   Before proposing action on the draft Declaration, he noted that with regard to paragraph 11 on 
Cotton, the third indent had been left in square brackets pending the conclusi on of consultations that 
had been ongoing at the time the text had been sen t for printing. He understood that the delegations 
concerned had reached agreement as follows with regard  to the text in this indent of paragraph 11: 
  First
, the square brackets would be removed;   
 
 Second , in the first sentence, the words "It is recognized" would be replaced by "Members 
agree";     Third
, in the first sentence, the word "should" would be deleted; and  
 
 Fourth , in the second sentence, the word "will" would be deleted. 
  Finally
, the delegations concerned had also agreed th at in paragraph 12, which also related to 
Cotton, the following words would be added at the end of the third sentence:  "until the end of 
subsidies".  He took it that these chang es were acceptable to all delegations. 
 
 Before moving to the draft Declaration, he also  wished to propose that Ministers take note of 
their understanding that the text concerning the dut y-free quota-free decision in sub-paragraph (a)(ii) 
of Annex F was a framework, and that devel oped Members and developing Members declaring  WT/MIN(05)/SR/12 
 Page 3 
 
 
  themselves in a position to do so were urged to set out, by the end of 2006, the means by which they 
would implement this decision.    Until there was any objection, he wished then  to propose that the Ministerial Conference 
adopt the draft Ministerial Declaration in docum ent WT/MIN(05)/W/3/Rev.2, as amended to remove 
the square brackets in paragraph 11, as well as the textual amendments proposed  in paragraphs 11 and 
12.  These amendments would be reflected in the fina l Declaration that would be circulated following 
the present meeting.  He also proposed that Mini sters take note of the understanding regarding the 
duty-free quota-free decision in sub-paragra ph (a)(ii) of Annex F of the text.   
 
 The Ministerial Conference so agreed
. 
  The Chairman
 then added that the statements made by delegations at the Heads-of-Delegation 
meeting expressing reservations were also duly noted.    
 The representative of Cuba
 said that his delegation had a statement of reservation which he 
had intended to make at the present meeting when the decision on the draft Ministerial Declaration 
was taken, but he understood that th is was not the appropriate moment to do so.  His delegation would 
be handing in to the Secretariat the full text of Cuba's statement so that its views could be duly 
reflected in the records of the meeting.  Cuba we nt along with the consensus on the Declaration, but 
had certain specific reservations that it wi shed to have taken into consideration.1 
 
 The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  said that his delegation too 
wished to reiterate its reservations regarding aspects of the draft Ministerial text it had referred to at 
the Heads-of-Delegation meeting held just prior to the present meeting in relation to Services and 
NAMA.  His delegation requested that these reserva tions be duly reflected in the records of the 
present meeting.2 
  The Ministerial Conference took note
 of the statements. 
 (c) Reports of the General Council and other WTO Bodies 
 The Ministerial Conference took note
 of the reports of the General Council and other WTO 
bodies that had been forwarded to Ministers for consideration. 
 
2. Date and venue of the Seventh Session of the Ministerial Conference   
 The Chairman  recalled that the Rules of Procedure for Sessions of the Ministerial Conference  
(WT/L/161) required that the date of each regular session should be established by the Ministerial 
Conference at a previous Session.  However, since it had not been possible to carry out the necessary 
consultations on this matter, he proposed that th e Ministerial Conference request the General Council 
to hold consultations with a vi ew to determining the date a nd venue of the Seventh Session. 
  The Ministerial Conference so agreed
. 
 3. Election of Officers 
 The Chairman
 recalled that the Rules of Procedure for Sessions of the Ministerial Conference 
(WT/L/161) also provided for the election of a Chai rperson of the Ministerial Conference and three 
Vice-Chairpersons to hold office from the end of the present Session until the end of the next regular 
                                                      
1 The statement submitted by Cuba is reprodu ced in Annex I of the present records. 
2 The statement by the Bolivarian Republic of Ven ezuela at the meeting of Heads-of-Delegation on 
18 December 2005 is reproduced in Annex II of the present records. WT/MIN(05)/SR/12 
Page 4  
 
  Session.  However, since it had not been possible to carry out the necessary consultations on this 
matter either, he proposed that the Ministeria l Conference request the General Council to hold 
consultations with a view to deciding on the electi on of Officers of the next Ministerial Conference. 
  The Ministerial Conference so agreed
. 
 
4. Closure of the Session 
 The Chairman  recalled that at the Inaugural Session of the Conference, he had said that 
Members had to make the best use of the 100 hours av ailable, and they had taken him at his word. He 
doubted that anyone had slept for more than ten hour s since then.  He did not know how others felt, 
but for him it was a little strange –  the past week had been gruelling, but for some reason he felt  
great, and he hoped others did as well.  It seemed to  him that some little bit of good must have been 
done.  He wished to thank the Hong Kong team fo r their hard work and the people of Hong Kong, 
China for having giving participants at the Conferen ce the tolerance and the support they needed.  He 
also wished to thank the host team, in particular  those police officers who had maintained everything 
in order, for their hard work day and night to ma ke sure the Conference could proceed smoothly.  He 
had heard a lot of appreciation from delegates for the arrangements, and was sure that this was doing 
all involved proud.  Hong Kong, China was a law-abid ing and tolerant city.  The unacceptable violent 
behaviour of demonstrators had disrupted the soci al order, and Hong Kong, China condemned this 
kind of behaviour in the most uncompromising te rms.  The professionalism of the Hong Kong police 
deserved the admiration of all. 
 
 The definition of a successful negotiation was one  where neither side was completely happy.  
By that measure, and judging by the litany of grumbles in the Heads-of-Delegation meeting just 
concluded, this had indeed been a very successful meeting.  Certainly, Ministers had come much 
further than had seemed possible even a fortnight ear lier.  For him, what had been most satisfying had 
been the way Members had come together in addressing a number of complex development issues.  
The big gains for developing countries would come ultimately from trade liberalization and the new 
market opportunities that would flow from it. Neve rtheless, the package of development issues that 
Ministers had helped deliver at this Conference re presented a significant advance.  Indeed, significant 
progress had been made across a broad front, and a clear roadmap had been drawn up for negotiations leading to the conclusion of the Round by the end of 2006.  In the meantime, he hoped that some, at 
least, would reward themselves with a short holiday  in Hong Kong.  He knew that all had earned it. 
  The Director-General
 said the past week had shown that where there was a common will, 
there was a common way.  Since mid-2004, when Mini sters had met in Geneva and had agreed on the 
July Framework, the Round had entered a phase of  slow-motion.  During the weeks preceding this 
Ministerial Conference, Members had been able to get out of this inertia and build some momentum 
in Geneva where the work for Ministers here had been prepared.  Coming to Hong Kong, all had been 
welcomed by the Host Government, a fantastic venue  and impeccable organization, and he wished to 
thank Secretary Tsang, his Government, the organiza tion team and all of the volunteers and citizens of 
Hong Kong, China who had spared no effort to pr ovide this Conference with perfect logistical 
arrangements.  He also wished to  thank the Vice-Chairs, Facilitators  and Friends of the Chair, who 
were to a very large extent responsible for the success  of this Conference – they had entered the tiger's 
cage and deserved the cub.   The setting for this Conference had been ma tched by the Ministers themselves, who had 
shown an immediate readiness to engage in negotiati ons.  He wished to stress this.  During the past 
week, Ministers in Hong Kong had not simply been taking note or signing dotted lines under 
meaningless words.  They had all been engaged in real negotiations in a transparent and inclusive 
process, and as this week of intensive work closed , they had good reason to feel good.  They had put 
the Round back on track, had given it a new sense of urgency and had achieved a quantitative and 
qualitative improvement, even if modest, in the negotia tions.  As some were aware, his first job had  WT/MIN(05)/SR/12 
 Page 5 
 
 
  been one of tax inspector, as a result of which he had a weak spot for numbe rs and percentages.  
According to his numerical evaluation, Ministers had come to Hong Kong with 55 per cent of the Round and were leaving with 60 per cent – one step forward.  There remained quite a lot to do.  
However, what Ministers had achieved here was more than a quantitative target .  They had been able 
to show the world that through common resolve – and only, he wished to underline, common – they 
could make concrete progress.  One could forget the magic wand and individual initiatives – in the 
WTO tribe, only collective action counted.  The gr eatest achievement of this Conference, therefore, 
was not a number or a date – much as a certain da te had occupied everyone's minds and nerves in the 
last moments – but rather a new political energy, a potent fuel to reach cruising speed during 2006.  
Members were also taking home a new balance in the agenda.  They had re-balanced the Round in 
favour of developing and least-developed countries.  It  was not a perfect balance, but as was said, the 
perfect was the enemy of the good.  There had been  breakthrough agreements in these negotiations – 
there were meaningful decisions on Aid for Trade, a nd above all, all decisions across the board in the 
different mandated areas contained substantive r esults for common goals to wards development.  
These were all good signs, and now Members could be su re they were heading in the right direction.  
They were not quite there yet, but the direction w as the correct one.  They were tilting the balance in 
the WTO firmly and steadily in favour of developing countries.  This new political energy was much needed for the immediate tasks ahead starting very early in 2006.  He encouraged all to take 
advantage of this refuelling and to start working at  high speed very early in 2006.  There was no time 
to waste.  Before closing, he wished to express his heartfelt thanks to his entire team – Deputies, 
Cabinet and Secretariat staff, both here in Hong Ko ng and also in Geneva.  Ministers had imposed on 
them a level of pressure that could not be imagined .  They had delivered – as they should, as servants 
of the public good – and deserved the applause of all.     The Ministerial Conference took note
 of the statements. 
 
 The Session of the Ministerial Conference closed  at 10.45 p.m. WT/MIN(05)/SR/12 
Page 6  
 
  ANNEX I
 
 
Statement by Cuba  
 
 The core objective of the Doha Work Programme  is development.  We have received a copy 
of the recently circulated draft Ministerial Declaration and are concerned to see that the adoption of 
measures in favour of developing countries has once again been put on the back burner.  The adoption of such measures would enable the majority of this  Organization's Members to come away from this 
Ministerial event with results that help to relieve  poverty and address their needs, thus making trade a 
tool for development.  During the preparatory phase and the conference itself, Cuba has participated 
constructively and positively in the negotiating process.  It has submitted various proposals and 
supported others, such as the one on services formally submitted by the G-90.   In this regard, we wish to place on record our surprise at the removal of the square brackets 
from paragraph 25 of the final draft text of the Mi nisterial Declaration, which refers to trade in 
services.  The removal of those square brackets was not agreed by Members and we therefore 
consider this amendment to be unacceptable.   The Cuban Government Minister, in his statement of 17 December, expressed the Cuban Government's position on paragraphs 1, 2 and 7 of Annex C.  He made  particular reference to the high 
commitment-level of this Annex, the danger it pr esents for strategic sectors in many developing 
economies, the qualitative parameters being sought and commitments regarding the elimination of 
economic needs tests and MFN exemptions.  We al so note that the above-mentioned Annex includes a 
"timeline" for the services negotiations, despite th e fact that the General Agreement on Trade in 
Services itself contains a pending commitment on the assessment of trade in services which should be 
honoured before new obligations are assumed. 
 
 For the above reasons, we wish to record ou r strong reservations regarding the content of 
Annex C on trade in services;  we will not accept commitments which run counter to Cuba's economic 
and social development objectives or to our national policy on trade in services.   WT/MIN(05)/SR/12 
 Page 7 
 
 
  ANNEX II  
 
Statement by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela   
  We welcome the considerable progress achieved in agriculture and, as a member of the G-20, 
we join Brazil in accepting the text relating to th at area.  We understand that the specific definitions 
process will continue.  However, in services and NA MA, as there are certain elements which affect 
our national interests and our legislation, the Bo livarian Republic of Venezuela would like to make 
the following comments:  
 With regard to services, our delegation still considers Annex C to be unacceptable.  The 
language contained in paragraph 1 is still too prescriptive.  Paragra ph 2, which we have disputed on 
repeated occasions, still remains in the Annex.  Para graph 7 still contains coercive elements that we 
reject, in particular paragraph 7(b).  For these r easons, we request that this section be removed from 
the Ministerial text. 
 
 As regards NAMA, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela would be ready to accept the 
proposed text if the paragraph referring to the form ula faithfully reflected the current status of the 
negotiations.  The attempt to bring everything to gether under one hat, the "Swiss formula", is 
unacceptable and ignores the other alternatives that  were being considered until now while limiting 
the possibility of developing new alternatives that re flect the interests of the developing countries and 
their economic growth needs in the industrial area.   Thus, we request a "Swiss-type formula" for 
example the ABI proposal.   To suggest that the Swiss formula option is  sufficient to address the interests of the 
developing countries is to ignore the spirit of the Doha Development Agenda as well as the principles 
of special and differential treatment and less-than-full reciprocity enshrined in the WTO's legal acquis 
and reaffirmed in Doha and in the July 2004 packag e itself.  Indeed, to apply the Swiss formula as 
proposed would be tantamount to disregarding these prin ciples.  At the same time, in keeping with the 
development objectives set forth in the Doha Agenda, the role played by the principles of special and 
differential treatment and less-than-full reciprocity in  the negotiations must be sufficiently clear, and 
these principles must be strictly independent from the other topics of negotiation.  The independence 
of the above principles is of vital importance, and should therefore have been mentioned in the draft 
Ministerial text.  Similarly, it is difficult to accep t the establishment of deadlines for the completion of 
the NAMA negotiations, since to do so would be to ignore the complexity of the negotiations and the 
differences of opinion that characterize them, and would undermine attempts to achieve a good 
agreement for the developing countries. 
 
 In the light of the above, I would like to express our reservation regarding the content of Annex C to the Declaration as well as paragraph 14 on NAMA.  We also wish to state that the  Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will be unable to  approve any elements that run counter to its 
national interests, its National Constitution, a nd the country's other laws and regulations. 
 
 
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