. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/47 
15 December 2005 
 (05-6015) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
ROMANIA 
 
Statement by HE Mr Iuliu Winkler
 
Minister Delegate for Commerce  
   Allow me first of all, on behalf of my delega tion, to express my gratitude to the Government 
and people of Hong Kong for the warm welcome and hos pitality that have been accorded us since our 
arrival in this beautiful city. 
  I would also like to avail myself of this opportu nity to thank the Director-General of the WTO 
and the Chairperson of the General Council for their determined efforts during the preparatory period. 
  This Ministerial Conference is the crucial staging point of the Doha Development Round, a 
unique historic opportunity to assess the progress of our work, reach consensus on the next steps for 
concluding DDA negotiations in a successful and timely manner so that we arrive at genuine solutions 
and practical plans of action for the objectives proposed by this Organization.   We share the awareness and the responsibilit y regarding the major challenges which the 
2lst Century poses to trade and development.  C onfronting these challenges is a task we share, a 
common responsibility which we cannot avoid.   I would like to emphasize that Romania supports the continuous multilateral trade liberalization within the WTO, based on the overall ba lance of interests, commitments and benefits of 
all Members.  We have the firm belief that our c ountry's active participation in the multilateral trading 
system is contributing to Romania's own economic growth. 
  In this regard, allow me to draw your atten tion to the fact that Romania witnesses its fifth 
year of sustained economic growth mainly due to its promising exports dynamics.  It became obvious 
to all of us that foreign trade represents the main  engine of development and economic restructuring. 
As a future member of the European Union by 2007, Romania's participation in the multilateral 
negotiations process seeks further liberalization of world trade through a set of measures that would ensure a balance between the rights and oblig ations of all partic ipating countries. 
  Romania attaches great importance to the Doha Development Agenda and supports the 
finalization of the Doha Round by the end of 2006, which should secure equal advantages for all 
WTO Members.  The multilateral negotiations should  be based on mutually agreed principles and 
have to take into consideration the needs resu lting from current economic de velopments.  We support 
the principle of transparency as a key element in decision-making in all areas within the WTO. 
  The Doha Round put development at the heart of world trade.  It is an increasingly recognized 
common interest to ensure that the outcome of H ong Kong reflects the vital contribution that trade can 
make to development, genuinely  stimulating economic growth across the developing world and 
ensuring that the world's poorest countries benefit fr om the global trading system. We do not want a WT/MIN(05)/ST/47 
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 world in which inequalities and exclusion continue to  increase.  We must now make every effort to 
associate economic and trade relations with the most  important values and demands of our societies. 
We all know a simple truth:  growth will only result if the opportunity to trade is combined with the necessary capacities to partic ipate in trade.  Romania highly appreci ates the call to rich countries to 
make good on their promises to the world's poor made at the Gleneagles Summit five months ago, 
which has already found an echo and we are all eager to see concrete results. 
  We need a comprehensive, ambitious agreement to cut barriers to trade in a balanced way for 
the three key areas:  agriculture, industrial goods , and services.  Further market openness in these 
areas associated with clearer and strong er multilateral rules are most needed. 
 
 Trade is not an objective in itself.  Trade need s to play its role in creating prosperity as a 
precondition, in combating poverty, all over the world.   Prosperity gives people and nations a stake in 
the future.  It serves the promotion of well-bala nced economic growth as a basis for sustainable 
development.  Estimations indicating that a success in cutting trade barriers by a third would boost the 
world economy by almost $600 billion are to be  taken into account for creating a refreshed 
momentum in the DDA negotiations.   Romania supports the objective of a signi ficant package of specific measures for the 
poorest:  eliminating trade distorting export subsidies,  complete market access for LDCs to all rich 
country markets, as the EU has already offered, sp ecial and differential treatment, simplified rules for 
preferential trade.  Each of the principal negotiating areas should therefore be looked at separately, 
taking each country's particular circumstances into account.   The international agenda has been dominated by feelings of instability and insecurity.  We 
need enhanced joint efforts to find solutions.  Sel f-interest and mutual interest are closely linked. 
Romania shares the view that national interests will reach their highest point only through collective 
action.  We should inject a renewed momentum in  the DDA negotiations.  This would contribute to 
further consolidate the multilateral system.   Recognition of the fact that all the issues on  the DDA Agenda are relevant for the future 
structure of the multilateral trading system is  essential to describe th e way for the future. 
 
 The growing relevance of the multilateral trad ing system is obvious from various points of 
view;  the accession of new Members is also a defining element.  Romania would like to take this opportunity to welcome Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Tonga into the WTO family.  Romania supports the accessions of the countries already enga ged in negotiations of accession to the WTO and 
is confident in their successful conclusion in the near future. 
  The results of this Sixth Ministerial Conference will reaffirm the commitment by the Members of the WTO to an agenda that seeks to  achieve a balance between the visions and the 
interests for all its Members.  
 We should meet together the challenges facing us in order to consolidate a stronger and more 
equitable multilateral trading system and a global eco nomy that is more open and prosperous for all. 
  To get the Organization closer to these objectives, we must overpass the gaps and not forget to look at the big picture and a longer term, rather  than at short-term, low-benefits actions. Only 
through a step forward in this Round, will we c onvey the message the whole world expects from us, 
reinforcing the trust in the multilateral trade system based on rules.  
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