. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/ST/99 
17 December 2011  
 
(11-6674) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original:   English 
 
  
MALDIVES 
 
Statement by H.E. Ms Iruthisham Adam 
Ambassador, Permanent Representative 
 
 
At the outset, on behalf of the Government of  Maldives, I wish the Members all the success in 
their deliberations at this Ministerial.  May I also congratulate the newly acceding Members, the 
Russian Federation, Vanuatu, Samoa and Monteneg ro who have also gone through the long and 
intensive accession process to join the Organization.  The Maldives joins others in warmly welcoming 
the new Members.  
Since being graduated from the UN list of LDCs  in January of this year, this is the 
first WTO Ministerial that the Maldives participat es in as a non-LDC Member of the Organization.  
However, graduation from the LDC status does not  remove the natural vulnerabilities of small 
economies such as the Maldives.  Nor does graduati on diminish the enormous challenges of fully 
integrating into the global economy.  
As a small island nation, the Maldives is suscep tible to environmental catastrophes, be they 
natural or manmade.  In addition, any global economic downturn and declining aid budgets does 
disproportionately affect countries such as ours.  Given these inherent disparities, the multilateral 
trading system needs to address the concerns of the small and the vulnerable economies, taking into 
account our particular needs for special and differe ntial treatment, in accordance with the commitment 
of Doha paragraph 35 and paragraph 41 of the Hong Kong Declaration. 
 
In this regard, I also call on the support of the wider Membership and note the ongoing efforts 
at other fora such as the UN in reviewing suppor t for small island developing States and the Istanbul 
Programme of Action for LDCs that has identifie d issues relating to the graduating countries. 
 
In terms of trade liberalization, the Maldives has had one of the most liberal and open trade 
and investment regimes.  And we are doing more. 
 
From 2012, my Government has decided to dras tically reduce import duty - a key source of 
Government revenue.  We are ope ning up and liberalizing our economy despite the challenges of 
economic vulnerability and the slow progress of the Doha Round. 
 
On Doha, we endorse the joint declaration of the SVE Ministers, the SAARC Ministerial 
communiqué and call for a conclusion of the Doha R ound in a manner that is inclusive and addresses 
the issues of SVEs.  In particular, we call upon preserving the flexibilities in fisheries subsidies, 
domestic regulation and the issues of NFIDCs such as food security.  To address the supply-side constraints, the Maldives reaffirm the WTO Aid-for-Trade initiative launched at the 
Hong Kong Ministerial as an important means of c ontributing to the fuller integration of SVEs into 
the multilateral trading system. WT/MIN(11)/ST/99 
Page 2  
 
  Before I conclude, let me reiterate my G overnment's commitment to the rules-based 
multilateral trade system that is fair and equitable.   Furthermore, we urge Members to maintain the 
centrality of the development dimension in the D oha Agenda, in particular the concerns of the 
small and vulnerable Members of this Organization.  
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