WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/96 
16 December 2005 
 (05-6085) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
IRELAND 
 
Statement by HE Mr Michael Ahern
 
Minister for Trade and Commerce  
   I would like to join with other delegations  in thanking the Government of the Special 
Administrative Region of Hong Kong, China, for hos ting the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the 
World Trade Organization.  This is indeed a beautif ul location.  It is also one which has gained a 
worldwide reputation in the service of trade, particularly in the manner in which it acts as a vital hub for global and regional trade.  Expertise in matters logistical is self-evident, and here, I would like to 
commend our Honk Kong hosts for the superb organizational arrangeme nts that have been put in 
place and executed.  
 The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference is a very important meeting.  It is an important 
milestone which will help us register progress to da te in the Doha Round of negotiations and help 
create the right basis for a decisive stage, with the aim of reaching a successful conclusion to the 
negotiations next year.  At this meeting we must reaffirm our determination to meet the ambitious 
objectives to which we committed ourselves in Doha  and which we wish to see delivered under the 
Doha Development Agenda.  Central to Ireland's approach and that of the European Union, is strong 
support for continued liberalization and a str ong commitment to respond to the concerns and 
ambitions of developing countries.   Progress towards achieving the aims of the Doha  Development Agenda in the period since the 
launch of the Round has been slow.  This is ha rdly surprising as our agenda addresses issues of 
sensitivity for us all.  The European Union has al ways affirmed the fundamental importance of the 
multilateral trade policy approach, under the direction of a strong WTO, as the Union's key strategic 
approach with the Doha Development Agenda as th e number one trade policy priority.  Ireland, as a 
member of the European Union, fully subscribes to this strategic approach. 
 
 The DDA negotiations were put back on a so lid footing when WTO Members adopted the 
Framework Agreement of July 2004.  We must build  on this Framework and continue to pursue our 
work with renewed vigour, particularly here at this  week's Ministerial Conference.  The achievement 
of our common goals will require all Members to demonstrate vision, flexibility and commitment. 
 
 For Ireland, trade has been a key stimulan t of economic growth.  The facts speak for 
themselves.  The performance of the Irish economy over the last two decades has been facilitated by 
our openness to international trade.  In 2004, Irish exports to the rest of the world amounted to 
123 billion euro, while imports amounted to 100 bil lion euro, making Ireland one of the most open 
economies in the OECD.  Since 1973, total Irish tr ade has increased from 81 per cent to over 150 per 
cent of GDP today.  Over the same period, Irish  GNP per capita grew from 60 per cent to 104 per cent 
of the EU average, providing strong evidence that international trade has been good for Irish living 
standards. WT/MIN(05)/ST/96 
Page 2  
 
  The work of the World Trade Organization has had a profound effect on Irish economic 
development by promoting the opening of internationa l markets to our exporters.  As the body that 
sets the rules of international trade, the WTO has regulated and progressively liberalized international 
trade and this has been a key factor behind Ire land's economic transformation over recent decades. 
 
 More than ever before, global economic growth  depends on maintaining an open international 
economy based on commonly agreed rules.  This in turn requires continued acceptance of the 
legitimacy of the WTO, which will be reinforced by a successful conclusion of the current Round 
aimed at liberalizing world trade.  
 Recently, the United Nations Secretary-General said that the international community must 
"break with business as usual and dramati cally accelerate and scale up action until 2015". 
  Ireland, alongside other members of the intern ational community, has responded to that call in 
what has been a significant year for development.  In May of this year, EU member States agreed 
collectively that they would reach  the UN target for development assistance by 2015.  In September 
this year, Ireland indicated that it would reach the UN target by 2012.  There has also been welcome 
progress on debt relief as evidenced at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles.  In this regard, Ireland, earlier 
this week, announced its intention to commit a pproximately 59 million euro to the World Bank 
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, which is ai med mainly at cancelling debt in Africa. 
 
 The delivery of the development dimension of  the Doha Development Agenda is, as far as 
Ireland is concerned, extremely important.  There are several are as where Hong Kong must deliver.  
The benefits to be achieved by developing c ountries will flow from the conclusion of successful 
negotiations across the core areas of the Doha R ound – in agriculture, non-agricultural market access 
and services.  Also a package of substantive developm ent measures needs also to  be concluded.  This 
substantive package must include duty-free and quo ta-free access for the least developed countries, 
agreement-specific proposals for special and diffe rential treatment and implementation issues, 
measures to strengthen trade-related assistance, wh ich should include an Aid for Trade package.  I 
welcome the recent decision by WTO Members to publicly amend the TRIP S Agreement on Public 
Health which will result in access to  affordable medicine in the poorest countries.  Similarly, I 
strongly commend the EU Council's decision earlier this  week to increase spending on Aid for Trade 
to 1 billion euro, by 2010.  This, in addition to the Commission's decision announced at the 
G8 Gleneagles Summit to provide a similar amount, will enable the Union to make a substantial 
impact in this critical area over the coming year s.  Ireland will be significantly scaling-up its own 
funding in this area.  
 The issues and measures are set out in the draft Ministerial Declaration that was presented to 
us at the outset of this meeting.  The particular focus of the Declarati on is to take stock of the progress 
in the DDA negotiations since the July 2004 Fr amework Agreement and sets the scene for the 
resumption of an intensive follow-up phase of the negotiations early in 2006, with a view to 
concluding the Round as soon as possible thereafter.  Ireland's approach in Hong Kong is based on 
this fundamental principle.  For its part the EU has made substantial proposals in all key areas and has 
demonstrated a willingness to engage in meaningful  and effective dialogue.  This positive approach 
will continue and has to be matched by others.   There has been a strong focus on agriculture in the negotiations and the EU has prepared 
responsibly and participated constructively at ever y stage in these negotiations.  Major reform of the 
EU's Common Agricultural Policy h as been carried out, not without pain for Irish and EU farmers, 
and the EU has made generous offers to reduce substantially domestic suppor ts and export subsidies 
and to improve market access.  While the EU is prep ared to reduce substantially the levels of support 
for agriculture, we do not accept that this should be  at the expense of a common agricultural policy 
and a rural development policy which protects the Eu ropean model of agriculture and continues to 
support farm families and rural communities whic h are still heavily dependant on agriculture.  WT/MIN(05)/ST/96 
 Page 3 
 
 
  
 The Irish Government warmly welcomes the accession of Saudi Arabia and Tonga to the 
WTO during this Ministerial Meeting.  Ireland hop es to see other countries, where negotiations on 
accession are almost complete, acceding next year.  Increasing developing and least developed country membership of the WTO confirms the role  which trade can play in development.  Trade 
liberalization is not an end in itself, but it is a means for achieving economic and social development.  
The WTO provides the basis for a level playing fiel d where all participants contribute to making and 
upholding a rules-based system of economic governance.   There is no doubt that we have set ourselve s a demanding task.  The Doha Round has the 
potential to deliver increased prospe rity to all WTO Members.  Hong Kong needs to provide us with a 
basis for the final decisive steps necessary to conclu de a successful Round. It is up to us all to help 
deliver on the level of ambition which was evident fro m the launch of the Round just four years ago. 
 
__________