WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/ST/1 
15 December 2011  
 
(11-6535) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original:   English 
 
  
QATAR 
 
Statement by H.E. Mr Sultan Al-Khater 
Under-Secretary of Ministry of Business and Trade 
  1. I would like to begin by congratulating you Mr President on your election to the Chair of this 
Eighth Ministerial Conference.  I must also thank the people and Government of Geneva for agreeing 
to host this Conference.  Our appreciation is also due to the Director-General of the WTO 
Mr Pascal Lamy, the Chairman of the Genera l Council Mr Yonav Agah as well as to the 
WTO Secretariat for their hard work and for th eir adherence to the important principle of 
Full participation, Inclusiveness, and Transparency. 
2. This Conference in Geneva is being held at a very critical juncture.  My delegation hopes it 
will come up with a clear road map on how to conc lude successfully the Doha  Development Agenda.  
The presence of all of us at this Conference is a cl ear testimony for the need to renew our commitment 
to DDA and the functioning of the multilateral trading system. 
3. In the context of the current global economic cr isis, the State of Qatar continues to opt for 
openness, modernization and democratization process.   This approach to economic policy is a vital 
driving force behind Qatar's impressive performan ce despite gloomy global conditions.  The objective 
is clear:  to move beyond the comparative advantag e of its natural resources endowment and diversify 
the economy. 
4. As part of its commitment to promote global development, the State of Qatar will host the 
13
th Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in April 2012.  
The Conference, which will attract some 6,000 govern ment officials, civil society representatives, 
staff members, and representatives of other international agencies, will be a valuable opportunity to 
contribute to the search by developing countries for a new and dynamic direction in their sustainable 
development options. 
5. As developments of this year unfolded in the Middle East in the context of (Arab Spring) one 
thing has become clear:  This transformation will result ultimately in more trade openness and 
integration, both regionally and internationally.  The State of Qatar therefore joins those who insist 
that the League of Arab States be granted perm anent observer status to the WTO.  Equally, we 
strongly support the efforts made so far by Pal estine to obtain an observer status in the WTO. 
6. This leads me to the issue of accession of new countries to the WTO and their integration in 
the global economy.  In this respect, Qatar believe s that this Conference should result in a clear 
decision to facilitate and accelerate the accession  processes of developing countries and least 
developed countries.  In this re gard, we strongly support speedy accession of all Arab countries which 
are in the different stages of their accession process to the WTO. WT/MIN(11)/ST/1 
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  7. The launch of the DDA in Qatar more than te n years ago was a momentous event, which was 
greeted by WTO members as a once in a generation opportunity to use new trade liberalization and 
systemic reform to lift millions of people out of poverty. 
8. Unfortunately, the potential gain to global economy welfare from the conclusion of the 
Round, the magnitude of which has been repeatedly demonstrated through many studies, are in danger 
of being lost.  Let us not forget that the DDA was initiated in Doha in order to focus on development 
issues.  Although the foreseen outcome is intended to benefit all WTO Members, the overwhelming 
consensus was that they are targeted at partic ular the development conc erns of the developing 
countries and the least developed countries. 
9. The State of Qatar commends the tireless effort of WTO Members during the last six months 
to deliver an early harvest for the least developed countries (LDCs) by wrapping up less controversial 
DDA issues.  We very much understand the reasons fo r the failure of these ef forts.  However, the 
adoption of a mini-package in favour of the LDCs, at this meeting would have been a positive step forward that would have allowed for the c onclusion of the Round in the near future. 
10. Qatar believes that this is still achievable if we can all make this our shared goal.  I firmly 
believe that, to generate trust in the ability of the WTO to deliver, we must seize this opportunity here 
in Geneva to take at least smaller steps and agr ee on certain less-controversial issues on the basis of 
paragraph 47 of the Doha mandate.  We would wish to see here in Geneva immediate decisions on the 
issues related to the developing countries and leas t developed countries in line with development 
mandate of the Doha Round. 
11. In this regard, trade liberalization of environm ental goods ought to provide an opportunity for 
developing countries to increase exports of su ch goods under paragraph 31(iii) of the DDA.  
Therefore, it is primary concern for Qatar to incl ude natural gas and its by-product to the WTO's list 
of environmental goods in view of elimina tion or as appropriate reduction of tariff and 
non-tariffs barriers on these goods. 
12. Being one of the countries that heavily depend on imports and exports, Qatar attaches special 
importance to the issue of trade facilitation in the WTO.  Therefore, we strongly support the current 
negotiations in the WTO under the DDA to enhance the freedom of transit, including goods moved 
via fixed infrastructure like pipelines. 
13. Furthermore, Qatar is of the opinion that this Conference should result in an immediate 
decision on all outstanding development issues incl uding Duty-free Quota-free for LDCs, Special and 
Differential Treatment, services waivers and reduc tion of domestic support for cotton in developed 
countries. 
14. Important as the 21
st century issues to the multilateral trading system, we have to be very 
careful of launching other negotiations, befo re addressing the above-mentioned issues. 
15. The State of Qatar welcomes the recent WTO co llaboration with the World Bank regarding 
trade finance for low income countries.  In this regard, we welcome the technical changes to the 
regulatory regime of trade finance announced by  the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.  
In our view, this is a useful step that will help promote both South-North trade and South-South trade. 
16. We welcome also with enthusiasm the accessi on of Russian Federation, Montenegro, Vanuatu 
and Samoa to the WTO and congratulate them as well as the WTO family.  WT/MIN(11)/ST/1 
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  17. To conclude, Qatar urges again the rest of the WTO Membership to overcome the current 
impasse in the DDA negotiations in order to acce lerate the global economic  recovery and guard 
against any protectionist measures. 
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