. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/ST/74 
17 December 2011 
 (11-6636) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original: French 
 
  
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 
 
Statement by H.E. Ms Marlyn Mouliom Zavourou Roosalem 
Minister of Trade and Industry 
   It is an honour for me, as Minister of Trade and Industry, to take the floor on behalf of my 
country, the Central African Republic, at  this Eighth Ministerial Conference. 
 
 I congratulate you, Mr Chairman, on your appointment to direct these proceedings.   Let me take this opportunity, on behalf of the Government of the Central African Republic, to 
thank the Swiss authorities for having agreed to host this important gathering and for welcoming us in 
the beautiful city of Calvin.  I take this opp ortunity to congratulate the Chairman of the 
General Council and the Director-General and thei r respective teams on the successful organizational 
arrangements for this important event.   The backdrop to the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference, which is being held in a difficult world economic environment, is the Doha Development Round. 
 
 The main concern of the LDCs has always b een to place their needs and interests at the 
heart of the negotiating round, that is the developmen t dimension.  In this c onnection, we welcome the 
Istanbul Declaration of May 2011 on implementati on of the priority action programme 2011-2020 on 
behalf of the LDCs.  We reaffi rm our position on the Dar Es Sa laam Declaration of October 2009. 
 
 The Central African Republic also associates it self with the statements made by Kenya on 
behalf of the African Group, Bangladesh on beha lf of the LDC Group, Mauritius on behalf of the 
ACP Group and the G-90, and the statement made by the C-4.   My country deeply regrets that, despite a w holehearted commitment and the efforts made, the 
negotiations have reached an impasse.  The Central African Republic is one of those countries which 
believe in the need for intensified efforts to look into all possible ways of overcoming the most critical 
and fundamental stalemates in the areas where mu ltilateral convergence has been particularly difficult 
to achieve.  
 Given the considerable differences of opinion, it is unlikely that the entire content of the DDA 
can be concluded simultaneously in  the near future.  For that reason, the Central African Republic 
encourages all the stakeholders to show greater flexib ility, so as to conclude this important agenda in 
a transparent and inclusive manner.   My country also favours the continuation of the negotiations on the basis of the progress 
already achieved, with due respect for the de velopment dimension and taking into account the 
major concerns of the LDCs.  We invite the Ch air of the Trade Negotiations Committee to make WT/MIN(11)/ST/74 
Page 2  
 
  every effort to define a clear and precise time table of future deadlines in the negotiations.  Regarding 
the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) , my country 
greatly appreciated the implementation of the waiv ers in respect of generic medicines, which has 
made it possible to obtain generic medicines ag ainst the major endemic diseases (tuberculosis, 
malaria, HIV/AIDS), for which th e cost of treatment has fallen from CFAF 300,000 before the launch 
of the DDA to CFAF 2,000 today, a substantial re duction.  The Central African Republic therefore 
supports the idea of extending the tran sition period in favour of the LDCs. 
  With regard to the negotiations on services , my country supports the decision on 
preferential treatment for LDCs.  We call for th e operationalization of th is important measure 
enabling the LDCs to move towards gradual liberalization in this sector. 
 
We support the proposal by the informal LDC group in their statement on accession to the 
WTO and invite the other developed Memb ers to show flexibility in the process. 
 
 We are in favour of a strong, rules-based multilateral trading system, and we urge the 
Director-General to do everything possible to contain or indeed eliminate protectionist tensions which 
cause market distortions and the proliferati on of regional trade agreements between 
Member countries, and which are not consistent, in  some cases, with WTO principles.  We cannot 
accept discriminatory negotiating formats which ar e not transparent and which would undermine the 
principles of consensus governing our Organization. 
 
We reaffirm our support for the organs of th e WTO, that is the different committees, and 
encourage them to pursue their efforts to br ing the negotiations to a final conclusion. 
  Concerning specific issues , the Central African Republic, as an LDC, a post-conflict 
country, and a stakeholder in this process, takes a ke en interest in questions relating to trade-related 
technical assistance, in order to build its capacity to e ngage in trade, which is an instrument of growth 
and poverty reduction.  In that conn ection, the Central African Republic appreciates and supports 
implementation of the Enhanced Integrated Framework , which is a tangible and appropriate 
example of capacity-building for the least developed countries.  
 My country, the Central African Republic, has benefitted from this important programme 
since 2006.  This process has enabled it to strengt hen its supply and institutional capacities and to 
implement a mechanism of coordination with its part ners based on a sectoral strategy for trade and the 
private sector, and more particularly on the m obilization of additional resources from certain 
institutions. 
 
 I should like to take this opportunity to th ank the EIF donors who have not waited for the 
conclusion of the Doha Round in order to  implement this important programme. 
  My country wishes to congratulate the Direct or-General of the WTO, the EIF Board, the 
Executive Secretariat and UNOPS, which have been  working day and night to secure approval of 
category one and two projects.  We have greater visibility, and as witnesses to a programme which 
corresponds to the real needs of the LDCs, we appeal  to donors to continue providing more resources 
to ensure the full success of this important progr amme so as to make it an instrument of the 
Aid-for-Trade programme.  
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