. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/122 
16 December 2005 
 (05-6125) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
UGANDA 
 
Statement by the Honourable Daudi Migereko
 
Minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry  
   Let me join other delegations in congratulati ng you on your election as Chairman of the Sixth 
WTO Ministerial Conference.  Uganda would like to  extend her appreciation to the Government and 
People of Hong Kong, China for the warm hospitality  and excellent arrangements made for this 
Conference.  Uganda also congratulates Saudi Arabia and Tonga upon acceding to the WTO.   As we meet here, we have an opportunity to u se trade as an instrument  to lift the livelihoods 
of millions of people out of poverty and to atta in the millennium development goals.  The Doha 
Development Round is important fo r us, and it is imperative that this Ministerial Conference duly 
addresses the development aspects of the Round.  De velopment issues specific to LDCs should be 
given priority.   As an LDC, Uganda looks forward to continue d trade-related technical assistance, and a firm 
commitment on aid for trade.  This should help us to build the supply side capacity and trade-related 
infrastructure needed to enable us to benef it from WTO Agreements through value addition and 
expanded trade.  We look at this as a core comple mentary measure to improve market access, and the 
two should go together.  We therefore appreciate th e pledges for increased contribution to this cause 
by Japan, USA, EU, UK, Sweden and other development partners. 
  Agriculture is very important to us.  We are looking forward to a balanced, equitable and fair 
outcome of the negotiations in this area.  Our fa rmers need to operate unde r fair and predictable 
trading rules.  It is our hope and expectation that this Conference will decide on the timetable for the 
reduction and eventual elimination of subsidies, removal of tariff peaks and tariff escalation and the 
elimination of non-tariff barriers (NTBs).  
 As I have had occasion to state at this Conference, the cotton sector is important in many 
countries and should be addressed as such.  However,  it is our belief that as we address the cotton 
issue, problems faced by other agricultural comm odities on which most of our economies depend 
should also be addressed.  It is our hope that a positive decision regarding co mmodity issues will also 
be taken during this Ministerial Conference. 
 
 In the area of trade in services, we await better quality market access offers that should 
include genuine commitments in Mode IV, partic ularly to provide for the less skilled labourers' 
legitimacy to work on temporary and contractual basis.   We welcome the 6
th December 2005 General Council Decision to amend the TRIPS 
Agreement, as well as the granting of the extens ion of the transition period under Article 66.1. 
 WT/MIN(05)/ST/122 
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  As regards industrial market access, exemp tion of LDCs from reduction commitments needs 
to be complemented by measures to effectively m itigate erosion of preferences.  I have in mind 
preferential schemes such as AGOA, EBA and other GSP programmes. These preferences are crucial in addressing the problems of unemployment and poverty in Africa.  
 Uganda, and indeed the whole of Africa, has come here to contribute to the successful 
conclusion of this Round of negotiations by the e nd of 2006.  We therefore call upon the Membership 
of WTO to constructively engage and make this R ound truly reflective of the development dimension. 
  We acknowledge that trade ne gotiations have inherent complexities and can at times be 
protracted.  However, this should not be used as a pretext for avoiding taking bold decisions at this 
Ministerial Conference.  This is a development round, and the outcomes of the negotiations must 
accordingly reflect this.  The whole world awaits eagerly for positive outcomes of the negotiations, 
and we must not disappoint them.  
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