WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(09)/5∗ 
24 November 2009 
 (09-5903) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Seventh Session Geneva, 30 November - 2 December 2009  
 
  
EZULWINI DECLARATION 
 
Adopted at the Third Meeting of Trade Ministers of LLDCs, 
 
held in Ezulwini, Kingdom of Swaziland, 21-22 October 2009  
   The following communication, dated 4 Novemb er 2009, addressed to the Chairman of the 
General Council, has been received from the Delegation of Paraguay. 
 
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  We, the Ministers for trade of the Landlocke d Developing Countries (LLDCs), meeting in 
Ezulwini, Kingdom of Swaziland, 21-22 October 2009,  
 
 Recognizing the development challenges faced  by our countries due to the geographical 
disadvantage of having no territorial access to the sea and the ensuing serious difficulties for the 
effective integration of our economies into the multilateral trading system,   
 Meeting at a time when the global economy is faced with a compound of crises, particularly 
the financial and economic crises, which are ha mpering economic development of our countries 
through, inter alia , a steep fall in international trade, a rise in protectionism, a substantive decline in 
remittances, a noticeable contraction in foreign direct  investment (FDI) and credit markets, as well as 
a heightened risk of a reduction in official de velopment assistance (ODA).  As a consequence, LLDCs 
have to cope with slower economic growth which may translate into rising poverty levels and an 
increasing likelihood of missing critical MDG targets.  
  Recognizing that while our countries are not responsible for the financial and economic 
crises, we are among those worst hit by its effects on international trade, global financial flows and 
multilateral cooperation,  
 
 Reaffirming our belief in potential benefits of a non-discriminatory, rules-based multilateral trading system and predictable trading environm ent, which takes into account the development 
dimension of international trade a nd responds to the needs of developing countries, notably those that 
are particularly vulnerable,  
 
 Emphasizing the importance of the developmen t dimension of the Doha Work Programme 
and the commitment of World Trade Organiza tion (WTO) Members to reach a final outcome 
consistent with the trade-related needs of developing countries,  
  Recognizing the special vulnerable status of LLDCs acceding to the WTO and the challenges 
faced by these countries within the context of their accession processes,  
                                                     
 
∗ This communication was previously issued as WT/L/776 and Corr.1 WT/MIN(09)/5 
Page 2  
 
   
 Recalling the successful previous two meetings of Ministers for trade of the Landlocked Developing Countries held in Paraguay in 2005 and in Mongolia in 2007 and the respective outcome 
documents, the Asuncion Platform for the Do ha Development Round and the Ulaanbaatar 
Declaration,  
 
 Recalling the United Nations Millennium Decl aration in which the Heads of State and 
Government recognize the special needs and problem s of landlocked developi ng countries, and urging 
both bilateral and multilateral donors to increase fina ncial and technical assistance to this group of 
countries to help them overcome the impediments of geography, 
 
 Recalling further the outcome of the 2005 World Summit and the General Assembly resolutions 56/180, 57/242, 58/201, 59/245, 60/208, 61/ 212, 62/204, 63/228 related to the particular 
needs and problems of landlocked developing countries   
 Recalling also the Almaty Programme of Action: Addressing the Special Needs of 
Landlocked Developing Countries within a Ne w Global Framework for Transit Transport 
Cooperation for Landlocked and Tr ansit Developing Countries, and the Almaty Ministerial 
Declaration as well as the outcome of the midterm review meeting of the Almaty Programme of Action, held in October 2008,  
 Further recalling the Ministerial Communiqué adopted by the Trade Ministers of LLDCs 
within the framework of UNCTAD XII, on April 22, 2008, in Accra, Ghana,    We the Ministers;   
Global economic crisis  
 
1) Express our deep concern about the economic and social implications of the 
current financial and economic crises, par ticularly with regard to the impact 
on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.  
2) Call on our bilateral and multilateral deve lopment partners to fully implement 
the measures and actions agreed at re cent high-level meetings, notably, the 
UN Conference on the World Financial a nd Economic Crisis and its Impact 
on Development, as well as the G20 London and Pittsburgh Summits (2009), 
to swiftly overcome the global economic crisis and to lay the foundations for a sustainable recovery for all, particularly the most vulnerable, such as 
LLDCs.  
3) Denounce all protective measures that may curtail market access for products 
from LLDCs and call for constructive a nd development-oriented multilateral 
trade negotiations to revive global tr ade.  Furthermore, we call upon our 
bilateral and multilateral development partners to honour their development 
commitments and to take decisive  measures in support of landlocked 
developing countries to safeguard hard  won development gains made during 
the past decades.  
 Multilateral trade negotiations 
 
4) Underscore the critical role of international trade and investment for 
development and growth of landlocke d developing countries.  We welcome 
the G20 Washington (2008), London (2009) and Pittsburgh (2009) commitments to refrain from increasing barriers to investment and trade of  WT/MIN(09)/5 
 Page 3 
 
 
  goods and services and to rectify promptly  any such measures in conformity 
with WTO rules.  We urge WTO memb ers to conclude ne gotiations under the 
DDA in order to deal with emerging protectionist measures.  We, nevertheless, recognize the importance of maintaining policy space for LLDC's, allowing them to use comme rcial and financial measures for 
purposes of development. We also welcome the enhanced monitoring process 
of measures taken by the WTO Member s in response to the current global 
economic crisis.  
5) Call on all WTO Members to expedite th e multilateral trade negotiations held 
under the Doha Round and restore devel opment objectives at the heart of the 
negotiation.  We call for the effective, full and democratic participation of all 
members and a multilateral, transpar ent, bottom up and member driven 
negotiation process. in order to arrive  at a successful conclusion with an 
ambitious, balanced and equitable outcome which ensures, inter alia,  
improved market access for agricultural a nd non agricultural export products 
of LLDCs.  
6) Urge all WTO Members to agree to a comprehensive review of the issues 
relating to the trade of the LLDCs.  This  review, to be held under the auspices 
of the General Council,· shall attempt to  arrive at concrete measures that 
could be taken with a view to mitigating the adverse impact of 
landlockedness on development and to  facilitating the development of 
productive capacities and economic divers ification in our countries.  
7) Reiterate our support to the proposal made by the members of the Sectoral 
Initiative in favour of Cotton, C4, related to the reduction of the domestic support which distorts the international cotton market. WTO Members are also urged to adopt measures to impr ove market access for cotton and cotton-
derived products.  The outcome of the agricultural negotiations shall ensure 
that WTO Members in a position to do so can take joint actions to set up a mechanism to address the loss of re venue for vulnerable cotton producing 
countries are facing as a result of declining cotton prices in international markets due to highly distorting subsidies.  
8) Participate effectively in the forthcoming Seventh Ministerial Conference of 
the WTO, scheduled for December 2009 in Geneva. 
 Trade Facilitation  
 
9) Highlight the importance of the Trade Facilitation negotiations for the 
LLDCs and to ensure that the agreem ent on trade facilitation in the final 
outcome of the Doha Development Round contains binding commitments 
ensuring the freedom of transit, as well as the expedite movement, release and clearance of goods. The ultimate objective must be the lowering of transaction costs, inter alia , by reducing transport time and enhancing 
certainty in trans border trade.  
10) Ensure that the final outcome also a ddresses adequately the issue of Special 
and Differential treatment, technical assistance and capacity building in 
accordance with the Annex D Decision of the General Council of August 1, 2004. To ensure that the TF Negotiations deliberate on the substantial improvement of GATT Article V, VIII and X.  WT/MIN(09)/5 
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  Accession to WTO  
11) Call for the provision of enhanced assistance and Aid for Trade to those 
landlocked developing countries that  are still outside the rules-based 
multilateral trading system and wish to accede to the WTO.  We stress the need for taking into account the indivi dual levels of development and the 
special needs and problems caused by the geographical disadvantage of being 
landlocked during the accession process to the World Trade Organization.  All provisions on Special and Differential Treatment reflected in the GATT and in all WTO agreements shall be granted to all acceding LLDCs.  
 Resource mobilisation  
 
12) Call on our bilateral and multilateral de velopment partners not only to 
maintain current levels of ODA tran sfers to LLDCs, but to further raise 
commitments.  
13) Request an expeditious implementation of the Aid for Trade agenda, which 
should give adequate consideration to the special needs .and requirements of 
LLDCs.  The LLDCs attach great importance to the Aid for Trade agenda and are committed to enhancing their partic ipation in the monitoring process to 
better articulate its trade needs and pr iorities for support.  These areas of 
targeted support include capacity building for the formulation of trade policies, participation in trade negotia tions, implementation of international 
agreements and particularly in stre ngthening of productive capacities with a 
view to increasing the competitiveness of LLDC's products in export markets.  
14) Call on members to recognize the clear  links between the Aid for Trade 
initiative, developing trade infrastructure and the implementation of trade facilitation measures.  For LLDCs, it is  important that our bilateral and 
multilateral development partners fu rther development and reduce poverty 
through employment, transfer of ma nagerial and technological know-how 
and non-debt creating flows of capital, as well as its key role in providing 
infrastructure for transport, telecommunications, and utilities.  We call on capital exporting countries to support e fforts made by LLDCs in attracting 
FDI and to adopt and implement econom ic, financial and legal incentives to 
encourage FDI flows to LLDCs. increa se their support to projects integrating 
these elements. We are committed to take  greater ownership of this initiative 
by further mainstreaming trade into national, regional and economic development strategies.  Given the importance of regional trade for LLDCs and our dependence on transit countries for extra-regional trade, we urge that 
the regional dimension of Aid for Trade be strengthened by involving 
regional partners including the devel opment banks and bilateral donors.  
15) To recognize the role of foreign direct investment (FDI), which may help 
accelerate development and reduce poverty through employment, transfer of managerial and technological know-how  and non-debt creating flows of 
capital, as well as its key role in providing infrastructure for transport, 
telecommunications, and utilities.  We call on capital exporting countries to 
support efforts made by LLDCs in attr acting FDI and to a dopt and implement 
economic, financial and legal incentives to encourage FDI flows to LLDCs.  
  WT/MIN(09)/5 
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  New and emerging challenges  
16) Express our concerns about new and emerging challenges that LLDCs will 
face increasingly in the near and medium-term future and which could jeopardize our development prospect s. We call on our bilateral and 
multilateral partners, as well as on releva nt international organizations, to 
assist LLDCs in their efforts to master these new and emerging challenges 
such as the impact of climate change and migration on the trade competitiveness and the institutional cap acity of LLDCs, which were not yet 
addressed in the Almaty Programme of Action.  
17) Encourage the pertinent international organizations to assist the LLDCs to 
better understand the implications of  climate change on LLDCs and to 
develop measures to counter its adverse effects. Climate change can undermine international efforts to wards poverty reduction and the 
achievement of the Millennium Develo pment Goals.  The world poorest are 
the most affected and yet the least prepared to confront the challenge of 
adapting to climate change and mitigating its effects, as demonstrated by the 
recent floods ravaging landlocked developi ng countries in West Africa.  The 
adverse effects of climate change are manifesting themselves in LLDCs through various channels, including impacts on agriculture production, food security, water stress, erosion of biodi versity and human health.  We take 
note of the forthcoming Climate Cha nge Conference in Copenhagen. As 
LLDCs we are vulnerable to the impact of climate change.  We call on this 
meeting to recognise the serious thre at posed by climate change and to 
address the specific problems and challenges of climate change on the LLDCs.  
 Multilateral cooperation arrangements  
 
18) Call upon the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade 
and Development to strengthen UNCTA D's institutional and operational 
capacity for addressing the complex and severe development challenges faced by LLDCs, in accordance with the Accra Accord and relevant General Assembly resolutions.  
19) Express our appreciation to UN - OHRLLS, UNCTAD, UNDP, UN Regional 
Economic Commissions, WTO, ITC, World Bank, Bilateral Donors, 
Regional Development Banks and AITI C for their continuous support to 
LLDCs, as well as for the provision of va luable help and timely information 
on trade-related issues and other issues of specific interest to LLDCs.  
20) Request the United Nations System Or ganizations, particularly UNCTAD, 
UN-OHRLLS, UNDP, the UN Regional Economic Commissions, and other international organizations, especially the World Bank, WTO and the WCO-to strengthen their work within th eir respective mandates towards the 
implementation of the Almaty Programme  of Action and the outcome of its 
midterm review.  
21) Further request UN - OHRLLS, UNC TAD, UNDP, UN Regional Economic 
Commissions, WTO, ITC and AITIC to  continue to assist landlocked 
developing countries in their efforts to effectively participate in international 
trade discussions and negotiations, incl uding in the Doha Round of Trade 
Negotiations and other WTO fora.  WT/MIN(09)/5 
Page 6  
 
  22) Welcome the launching of the Internat ional Think Tank for the landlocked 
developing countries in Mongolia, which was inaugurated by the United Nations Secretary-General, on 27 Ju ly 2009 in Ulaanbaatar, with the 
objective to enhance the analytical  capability of landlocked developing 
countries and provide home-grown research  to cater for our specific needs, 
maximize our coordinated efforts for th e full and effective implementation of 
the Almaty Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals.  
We expect that the relevant studies and recommendations by the Think Tank will make a contribution to the WTO ne gotiations on Trade Facilitation with 
a view to improving GATT Articles V, VIII and X.  We express our gratitude 
to the Government of Mongolia for taking on this noble task and its 
continued leadership in matters pe rtaining to landlocked developing 
countries.  We urge international organizations and donor countries to 
support the operational activities of the think tank.  
 Acknowledgment  
 
 We, the Ministers for trade of the Landlocke d Developing Countries (LLDCs), meeting in 
Ezulwini, Kingdom of Swaziland, 21-22 October 2009, express our profound appreciation to the 
Right Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Sibusiso Barn abas Dlamini for his inspiring opening address, 
and thank the authorities and the people of the Ki ngdom of Swaziland for hosting this event.  
 
 
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