. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/113 
16 December 2005 
 (05-6119) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
NAMIBIA 
 
Statement by the Honourable Immanuel Ngatjizeko
 
Minister of Trade and Industry  
  
I wish to join others who have  spoken before me, to express a ppreciation and gratitude of the 
Namibian delegation for the kind hospitality extended to us by our hosts since our arrival in this 
beautiful city of Hong Kong, China. 
We arrived here expecting that, as political leader s we shall have the opportunity to work out 
modalities that would guide our negotiators in the implementation of the common agenda and a 
programme, as outlined in the Doha Development Ag enda and the decision of the General Council of 
1 August 2004 on the July Framework, 
Namibia is committed to the rules-based mu ltilateral trading system as the way through 
which economies of developing nations, such as ours, can be meaningfully integrated into the world 
economy.  Namibia's commitment to free-trade is de monstrated through her participation in regional 
integration at the levels of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), where we are promoting intra-regional trade as well as free 
movement of goods and services between our regional bodies and other trading blocks in the world.  
It is our view that these efforts w ill further contribute to the pro cess of reaching consensus among 
Members within the context of WTO negotiations. 
Like other developing countries, Namibia would like to see this Conference creating a 
platform for a win-win dialogue and trade relations fo r all Members of this Organization.  Such result, 
will make the ideals of the WTO a reality and meaningful for all. 
Apart from serving as an instrument for the pr omotion of development through trade, the 
WTO should also contribute to the achievement of  peace and peaceful coexistence among nations. 
Matters of trade remain important to socio econom ic development of all members and as such, equal 
participation of all Members, big or small, rich  or poor in decision-making process remains the only 
way lasting peace in the world can be achieved. 
The Doha Agenda has placed development at its centre.  Implementation of this Agenda is 
supposed to yield a fair, equitable and balanced resu lt.  It is important that any outcome of trade 
negotiations benefits members and creates opportuniti es for trade and development;  especially for 
developing countries who constitute the majority of the WTO membership. 
In this regard, the end-result of the Round s hould among others create tangible market access 
opportunities, particularly for developing countries.   Likewise, this should enable them to 
industrialize, develop service sectors, generate we alth, employment opportunities and ownership of 
our resources, and ensure that trade contributes to the eradication of poverty. WT/MIN(05)/ST/113 
Page 2  
 
 Namibia welcomes the recent decision to amend the TRIPS Agreement to provide developing 
countries better access to affordable  drugs, especially for HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria, as well as 
the progress made on Trade Facilitation.  However, it is equally important for us to find ways of 
improving infrastructures in developing countries, to enab le them to participate in, and facilitate trade. 
Like other lower middle income developing countries, Namibia finds herself in a peculiar 
situation within the context of WTO negotiations.  Namibia has made commitments comparable to 
those of developed countries under the Uruguay Round,  and is expected to make further commitments 
as a developing country under this Round. 
At the same time, Namibia's exports continue to face tariff peaks and tariff escalations in the 
developed country markets.  It is clear that th e current approach does not  take into account these 
peculiar realities. 
Since we do not have access to concessional facilitie s or debt relieve, our only survival lies in 
deriving benefits from our exports  of goods and services in order to address development challenges 
facing our country.  It is our view that we should be innovative to ensure that WTO finds formulae that address concerns and expectations of a ll its Members, taking in to account their special 
circumstances. 
It is imperative that we find a solution to ag riculture, as agriculture  provides livelihood to 
many people in both developed and developing countries.  To this end, agriculture should pursue pro-
poor growth and development imperatives. 
We should create an environment conducive for diversification of the economies of 
developing countries through industria lization.  As such, market access for industrial goods of export 
interest to developing countries is im portant within the medium and long-term. 
Namibia would like to see a dialogue leading to concrete measures towards the services 
sector, where developing countries may also benefit.  We want to see a breathing space to understand 
and deal with implementation issues effectively.  Trade capacity-building, transfer of technology and 
development assistance are essential to overcome the s upply-side constrains and barriers in the form 
of quality and standards, which hamper mark et access opportunities where they exist. 
We remain confident, willing and committed to  move this process forward and as such, we 
are giving support to the Chair of the Hong Kong Sixth Ministerial Conference and other colleagues involved in this process so that we could make this Conference a success. 
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