WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/120 
16 December 2005 
 (05-6123) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
MAURITIUS 
 
Statement by the Honourable Madan Murlidhar Dulloo
 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, In ternational Trade and Cooperation  
   Allow me, on behalf of my delegation a nd on behalf of the ACP Group of countries to 
sincerely congratulate you upon your election as Chairperson of the Sixth Ministerial Conference of 
the WTO.  We fully recognize the enormity of the challenges you face in this position, given the 
critical importance of our work here in Hong Kong for the rest of the negotiations in the Doha Round.  
And we are confident that under your able gui dance our deliberations will reach a successful 
conclusion.   I also wish to express our profound gratitude for the reception and warm hospitality that has 
been extended to us by the Government and the pe ople of Hong Kong China since our arrival in this 
beautiful city of Hong Kong.   This Conference has special significance fo r Mauritius and other ACP member States as it 
provides an opportunity to take stock on progress ma de in the negotiations since the adoption of the 
July Package.  The Doha Round is premised on the need for addressing th e development needs and 
concerns of the least developed and developing countries.  We, therefore, reiterate that the 
development interests and concerns of these countri es cannot but remain at the centre stage of the 
negotiations.   For the ACP, including Mauritius, the succes s of this Development Round depends on the 
outcome of this Conference.  In a development rou nd, it is legitimate that the developed countries 
make more compromises to enable the weaker and more vulnerable partners to have access to their markets.  But access without the cap acity to produce would remain meaningless.  It is vital therefore 
that the Conference agrees on a package that would help to build supply capacity in the developing 
countries, in particular the weakest and most vulne rable among them and build resilience to meet the 
growing competitive challenges.  The weaker ones need to be more protected if we want to have a 
win-win situation and see the developmental promi ses fulfilled.  This Conference is an important 
milestone in our way towards reaffirming the deve lopment dimension of the Round.  Anything short 
of achieving this would be a major blow to objec tives set for the Round and would be particularly 
harmful for most of the vulnerable and small economies of the WTO for whom the multilateral 
trading system remains the forum to have their development agenda established and implemented.  
The majority of the Members of the WTO do not have the resources or the clout to engage in 
meaningfully bilateral negotiations at arm's length.   The ambition of this Round, which has placed de velopment at the center stage, can neither be 
allowed to be diluted nor recalibrate d.  Members should now seek to wo rk harder than ever before to 
achieve this goal as progress to date on the developm ent front has been only too dismal.  Most of the 
deadlines have not been met.  Delivery on the pr omises of the Development Round will be gauged 
against benchmarks that see our countries reap  tangible benefits and move up the ladder of WT/MIN(05)/ST/120 
Page 2  
 
 development.  This is still not the case today as many of the vulnerable countries are excluded in the 
recent development initiatives announced in Hong Kong.  Already since our meeting in Doha in 2001, 
there have been many casualties, for example, in s ugar, banana, textiles and other products of vital 
economic importance for our countries.  
 Our situation has worsened due to a number of reasons including the erosion of trade 
preferences, growing tariff and non-tariff barriers to their exports, stringent rules of origin, complex 
sanitary norms and inadequate supply capacities.  The Development Round was conceived with the 
overarching objective and ambition of redressing these im balances and raising the standard of living 
of our people.  Development should put people fi rst.  It is therefore incumbent upon all WTO 
Members to ensure that this pledge is met.  Multilateral trade rules and negotiations must provide 
policy space for developing countries in particular  the small vulnerable ec onomies and poor countries 
so that they can integrate fully into the world ec onomy.  Then we can boast of a successful outcome. 
  The agriculture agenda is today driven by the interest of a few immensely resourceful 
countries.  It must be recalled that given the vul nerabilities and lack of resilience of most of our 
Members, the legal system of the WTO has astutel y allowed the co-existence of MFN rules and trade 
preferences.  Preferences are rec ognized as legal in the WTO system though it is also recognized that 
it cannot be seen as part of a permanent arrangement.   The co-existence of these twin regimes has effectively permitted many countries to retain 
their niches within the broader framework of regu lated market access and a predictable and legally 
secure system.  The faster liberalization of agricultu ral markets, in the absence of flanking measures 
to support the necessary diversification and adjust ment process, will only expose the ACP countries to 
mass destruction of welfare, employment and ear ning possibilities.  An unbridled competition can 
only be detrimental to these resource-poor and vulnerable countries and further impoverish them. 
Most of them are net food importing developing countries and depend on their export earnings for 
their livelihood concerns and food security.  Th ese are important considerations which the WTO 
system should imperatively address.   Mauritius is a clear example of how this vulnerability affects us.  From a mono-crop 
economy, Mauritius has many costly a ttempts at agricultural diversification.  But this is the only crop 
that is well suited to the climatic conditions, hen ce, its pervasive influence on other sectors of the 
economy.  With the so-called recent reform of the EU sugar regime which ha s cut down sugar prices 
by 36 per cent, Mauritius faces a bleak prospect for its main agricultural exports.  Losses in revenue 
and jobs are going to be so huge as to attain disa strous proportions.  Any further liberalization of 
sugar trade through the WTO would exacerbate the situation in Mauritius and other ACP countries.  
We call on Members to give due consider ation to sensitive products like sugar. 
  The fragility of our economic situation beco mes even more pronounced as other sectors are 
liberalized without considering what the future will reserve for us.  The liberalization of the textile 
and clothing sectors brings another specter of gloom  and agony in countries like mine.  This sector, 
which plays a vital role in the Mauritian economy, has, in fact, been the first step towards the 
industrialization of the country.  The dismantling of the Multi Fibre Arrangement has given another 
serious blow to our efforts for the diversification of our economy.  The closure of factories resulting 
in loss of jobs and revenue for the village poor thr eaten our social fabric in its very foundation. 
  Mauritius is a far flung small island developing state.  Due to its inherent vulnerabilities and 
its poor endowment in natural resources, it has limited diversification possibilities even in the 
industrial sector.  It is crucial that these sensitivities be fully taken into consid eration and that interests 
of our small economies are fully taken on board in the NAMA modalities.   Mauritius is working along with a group of  small economies on the Doha Mandate on the 
small economies.  There is need for real engageme nt and greater commitment on the part of all WTO  WT/MIN(05)/ST/120 
 Page 3 
 
 
 Members to deliver on this Mandate which is an in tegral part of the Doha Development Round.  We 
need to build on the work done so far so that e ffective responses are found to the needs and concerns 
of the small economies for their full integration in the multilateral trading system.  I seize this opportunity to welcome Saudi Arabia and Tonga as new Members of the WTO and I hope that the 
accession process of other countries, especially th e weaker and vulnerable ones be expedited. 
 
 I realize that I have limited time.  As I still have to dwell upon several issues of critical 
importance for the ACP, I am circulating a statement for the appreciation of the WTO Members. For the ACP Group, the success of this Round and the fulfillment of developm ent promises we have 
to be gauged under four  benchmarks, namely: 
 
 (i) Balanced rules that provide developing countries the policy space to pursue 
development policies most suited to thei r levels of development and needs; 
  (ii) enhanced market access for products and services of interest to developing countries; 
 
 (iii) capacity-building programmes and tec hnical assistance including for strengthening 
supply-side capacity of ACP countries, institution building and human resource 
development;  and 
  (iv) adjustment support measures. 
 
 The deliverables on development will have to be tangible, clear and meaningful.  The ACP 
Group's expectations are that the outcome of  the Round will allow our small and vulnerable 
economies to be integrated in the global economy  and will be in consonance with the Millennium 
Development Goals and their realization. 
 
 We have taken note of the efforts made by  the General Council Chairperson and the WTO 
Director-General in moving the Geneva process for the preparations for this Conference.  The ACP 
Group has always constructively engaged at all stages of this process.  In this perspective the Group 
provided its suggestions for amendment of the draft Ministerial Text so that there is a balance, 
equitable and acceptable outcome and caters for the interest of all WTO Members.  A win-win 
situation needs to be created in the negotiations, which means that some Members will have to make 
relatively more efforts within the overall concepts of  less than full reciprocity, it is only through such 
understanding and solidarity that a consensus can be achieved.   Let me now broadly underscore the ACP Group's views on the various areas under 
negotiation for reaching a consensus.  The following issues are of critical importance to our economic 
development.  (i) Market access for products of export interest to ACP countries;   (ii) removal of structural distortions in agricultural markets;  
 (iii) obligations to be undertaken by ACP countries should be commensurate with our 
level of development;  and 
  (iv) increased financial assistance for countri es that will experience adjustment costs and 
for improving ACP's competitiveness. 
 
 On agriculture, the ACP Group is seeking a bala nced outcome which ensures that the special 
and differential treatment and the developmental dime nsions are well entrenched in the result of the 
negotiations.  The issue of long standing preferences  calls for concrete trade related solutions.  We 
note with concern that the draft Ministerial Text on agriculture does not give any explicit indication 
regarding this issue.  We believe that developmenta l content should be fully manifest in terms of the WT/MIN(05)/ST/120 
Page 4  
 
 reduction formula, the issue of proportionality, threshold for bands, selection and treatment of 
sensitive products, special products, SSM a nd issues relating to NFIDCs and LDCs. 
  On cotton, we stress the need to achieve e xpeditiously concrete results here at Hong Kong 
given the critical importance of this issue to ACP countries. 
 
 In NAMA, we wish to underline the high impor tance of having a tariff reduction approach 
and appropriate flexibilities in line with the deve lopment realities of the ACP countries.  A trade 
solution to the fundamental problem of preference erosion is most critical to the Group.  
 The Group underscores the need for maintain ing the policy space and the development 
f1exibilities which are inherent in the GATS archit ecture.  In this regard, the Group has serious 
concerns with the Annex C of the draft Ministerial Text as there is no agreement for its inclusion.  
The ACP urges on the need for securing a ba lanced outcome in the services negotiations. 
 
 Regarding development issues, it is our h ope that progress will be achieved here in 
Hong Kong with a view to rectifying the imbalances  in the various areas under negotiation.  In this 
regard, the various mandates should be faithfully a nd fully completed, especially with regard to 
special and differential treatment, implementation i ssues and concerns, the special situation of LDCs, 
small economies, commodity issues, technical assistance, capacity-building, transfer of technology and trade, trade debt and finance. 
 
 Transparency and inclusiveness in the negotia tions throughout this Conference is an essential 
condition in helping to enhance the credibility a nd viability of the multilateral trading system and 
ensuring the success of the Conference.  
 The ACP Group remains fully co mmitted to this Development Round and will constructively 
engage with other Members to make the de velopment promises of the Round a reality. 
 
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