WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/78 
15 December 2005 
 (05-6067) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
NIGERIA 
 
Statement by the Honourable Idris A.D. Waziri
 
Minister of Commerce  
   Let me, on behalf of the Nigerian Delegation to the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference;  join other speakers before me to congratulate you on you r election as the Chairman of this Conference.  
Let me also pay special tribute to HE Mr Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO and the 
Chairperson of the General Council, Ambassador Amin a Mohamed, for their eff ective leadership role 
in the Geneva preparatory process, and for evol ving the agenda which is placed before us for 
consideration and decision.  I w ould also like to express our sincer e thanks and appreciation to the 
Honourable Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and 
the entire people of Hong Kong, for the warm hosp itality extended to my delegation as well as for the 
excellent facilities that have been provided for th is Conference.  We welcome the Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia and Tonga to the WTO family and hope that their accession would be beneficial to the entire 
membership.   My delegation attaches great importance to the Sixth Ministerial Session.  We strongly 
believe that it presents an opportunity for the entir e membership to collectively look into the problems 
facing the multilateral trading system in general, and in particular the reasons for the lack of progress 
in the Doha Development Agenda ne gotiations.  In this regard, it is our view that this Conference 
should fully address the problems and challenges faci ng the WTO, in order to ensure a fairer and 
more equitable multilateral trading system that is responsive to the needs and aspirations of all its 
Members.  Achieving these objectives would no t only make the WTO capable of meeting its 
challenges, but also improve its image to the outside worl d.  I, therefore, urge all of us, in spite of our 
differences, to find solutions to the problems c onfronting the Organization and the negotiations, 
including development, which is at the heart of the current WTO work programme.   Agriculture is very critical to the economy and livelihood of most developing countries.  For 
Nigeria, it provides employment and means of liveli hood for over 70 per cent of the population.  It is 
also an important sector for addressing poverty, li velihood and rural developm ent concerns.  In the 
light of this, my delegation attaches great importanc e to achieving tangible results in the agriculture 
negotiations.  We also believe that it holds the ke y to the success of the entire Doha Development 
Agenda (DDA) negotiations.  Nigeria, therefore, expects that the problems associated with unfair 
global trade distortions in agriculture through th e provision of export subsidies and domestic support 
should be expeditiously an d comprehensively addressed. 
  It is our expectation that full modalities on agricu lture would be attained at this Conference.  
However, since this is no longer possible due to lack of convergence and irreconcilable differences 
among Members, we call on all parties to be more fl exible and to demonstrate the requisite political 
will, so that genuine progress can be made in the negotiations.  This Conference should, therefore, 
fully address the reduction and elim ination of trade distorting measures in agriculture, as well as 
provide flexibilities and policy space for developing c ountries in the three pillars of the negotiations. WT/MIN(05)/ST/78 
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 My delegation would in the post-Hong Kong phase of the Doha  Round, continue to pursue 
the long-term objective of establishing a fairer and market-oriented global agricultural trade regime.  
Nigeria calls for concrete progress on Special Pr oducts (SPs) and the establishment of a Special 
Safeguards Mechanism (SSM).  We also want an expeditious and meaningful solution to the cotton 
issue, in view of its importance to the economies of many countries.  It is, therefore, our expectation 
that this session would find ways to move the nego tiations in agriculture forward, with a view to 
speedily and successfully concluding the Round by December 2006.   On services, our objectives in the negotiations are to address key issues of concern such as the 
liberalization of Mode 4 relating to movement of  natural persons, as well as other service sectors of 
export interest to developing countries.  Similarly, the provision of targeted technical assistance and capacity-building should continue to be part of the negotiations so as to address the capacity 
constraints of developing countries in the area of trade in services.  Regarding the recent proposals on 
other possible approaches to the services nego tiations, my delegation believes that any 
complementary approach on services must be consistent with the current GATS architecture and the 
agreed Negotiating Guidelines and Procedures and other relevant instruments.   Nigeria shares the view that negotiations in  respect of Non-Agricultural Market Access 
(NAMA), including the outcome should fully take into account the principles of proportionality and 
less-than-full reciprocity.  There should also be cl ear and specific special and differential treatment, 
provisions and flexibilities for developing countries.  It is also important that the modalities to be 
adopted should address the concerns  of developing countries regarding high tariffs, tariff peaks, tariff 
escalation and non-tariff barriers.  My delegation is also concerned about the potential loss of customs 
revenue from tariff cuts, as well as the erosion of preferences.  
 Nigeria and other developing countries welcomed the launching of the DDA in 
November 2001 with very high expecta tions.  We are, therefore, concerned about the current lack of 
progress on the development aspects of the Work Progr amme.  In order to provide fresh impetus and 
ensure that the multilateral trading system deliver s on development after Hong Kong, Nigeria calls on 
the Secretariat to conduct a "development audit" of  the current negotiations.  And since development 
issues are largely central and cross-cutting, Nigeria looks forward to significant progress on core 
development issues such as trade and transfer of t echnology, trade debt and finance, as well as special 
and differential treatment and all the agreement- specific proposals which should be made precise, 
effective and operational as soon as possible.  We are also concerned about the lack of progress on 
implementation-related issues, despite the fact that they have been on  the table for so long.  Let me 
stress here that the resolution of these issues w ould address the current imbalances and promote the 
effective participation of developing countries in the multilateral trading system.  In particular, the aid 
for trade programme should be a comprehensive and predictable instrument for addressing supply-
side constraints in the economies of developing countries.   On trade facilitation, while we welcome the adoption of modalities, the launching of negotiations and the progress so far made, my de legation wishes to underscore the importance of 
Special and Differential Treatment (S&D) and the provision of technical assistance and support for 
capacity-building to developing countries, to enable  them to participate more effectively in the 
negotiations, and to implement any potential outcome.  However, further work should be carried out 
on both the proposals that have already been made and, any new proposals that might be submitted to 
clarify and improve Articles V, VIII and X of GA TT 1994.  It is also our expectation that the 
negotiations would result in a win-win situation for all Members. 
  Technical assistance and support for capacity-building is a core element of the WTO work programme under the Doha Development Agenda.  Indeed, capacity constraints have hampered the 
integration into and effective participation of many developing countries, particularly those from 
Africa in the international trading system.  While we recognize and appreciate the technical assistance  WT/MIN(05)/ST/78 
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 being given by the WTO to Members, we are of th e view that such technical assistance should be 
more tailored to individual country needs.  My delegation is also of the view that more coordination is 
required between the WTO and other collaborating agencies that are also providing technical 
assistance to developing countries, in order to ensure synergy in their delivery.  
 My delegation is happy about the work that  was done in the TRIPS Council on converting the 
temporary waiver solution into a permanent so lution.  Indeed, the amendment of the TRIPS 
Agreement would enable developing countries, includ ing mine with insufficient or no manufacturing 
capacity in the pharmaceutical sector to address th eir public health concerns with respect to 
pandemics, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, and t uberculosis.  I commend Members for working 
tirelessly to achieve this important outcome that should provide more certainty and predictability. 
  Nigeria has recognized the need for domestic  policy reforms as a platform for increasing the 
benefits derivable from the international trading system .  To that end, allow me to use this opportunity 
to briefly highlight some of the key reforms that the present administration has undertaken, in order to 
correct the problems caused by many years of milita ry rule and to create a more conducive business 
environment.  Government, therefore, is currently implementing the National Economic 
Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) based  on extensive structural reforms to promote 
a more diversified, rule-based market economy.  The objective is to increase private sector participation in the economy while reducing the in volvement of government to that of a facilitator 
only.  Other important aspects of the NEEDS include, social sector policies aimed at poverty 
reduction and human resources development;  political reforms aimed at making Nigeria more stable, 
as well as resolving political and constitutional issu es to achieve national unity, peace, and progress;  
and promoting transparency and accountability,  fiscal discipline and fighting corruption. 
  Furthermore, a comprehensive privatiza tion and deregulation programme is being 
implemented.  Nigeria, therefore, counts on the supp ort of the international community to make these 
reform efforts successful.  We believe that the WTO can play an important role in delivering on the 
gains of liberalization by focusing and achievi ng the development package of multilateral trade 
negotiations in order to improve  the living standards of all. 
  In conclusion, let me reaffirm Nigeria's co mmitment to the principles and objectives of the 
multilateral trading system.  It is also our expectation that the Sixth Ministerial Session would inject 
the necessary momentum to the Doha Developmen t Agenda negotiations, so as to move the 
negotiations forward in all areas.  We call for greater  attention to be given to issues of interest to 
developing countries in order to achieve a pro-deve lopment outcome form the negotiations.  We also 
call for greater coherence in gl obal economic policy making between  the WTO and other relevant 
international organizations, in orde r to address in tandem issues on trade, debt, eradication of poverty 
and disease and make life more meaningful for all.  In that regard, we must all make it a collective duty not to leave Hong Kong empty-handed.  
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