. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(09)/ST/67 
1 December 2009 
 (09-6159) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Seventh Session Geneva, 30 November - 2 December 2009 Original:   English 
 
  
JORDAN 
 
Statement by HE Dr Montaser Al Oklah
 
Secretary-General, Ministry of Industry  
   Let me at the outset express the gratitude of th e Government of Jordan for the efforts exerted 
by the WTO Secretariat and the Swiss authorities in arranging for this Ministerial Conference. 
 
 Holding this conference at this time is very crucial, as the current financial crisis we are 
witnessing is outreaching, in the sense that we all have been affected.  Our economies have become 
closely interconnected due to globalization and to  the multilateral trading system.  Accordingly 
economic stability and growth in any part of th e world has become essen tial for the growth and 
economic sustainability of world economies.  Thus, our mission is to collectively work on 
overcoming the impact of this serious crisis. 
  At this distinguished gathering, I have to st ress that the WTO's role is extremely vital, and 
accordingly Jordan welcomes the in itiative put forward by several Member States to establish an 
appropriate deliberative process to review the organi zation's functioning, efficiency, and transparency 
to increase WTO's capacity and preparedness to deal  with the rapidly changing world economies. 
  Director-General Mr Pascal Lamy, as well as the WTO Trade Policy Review Body, have accomplished excellent work in preparing compile d reports for the purpose of monitoring measures 
taken by Member States to face the current econom ic crisis, thus contributing significantly to 
enhancing and promoting transparency within the multilateral trading system. 
 
 Moreover, a well balanced conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda combined with an 
accelerated and substantial completion of the Round w ould significantly contribute to the recovery of 
the global economy and will establish a more developm ent-oriented multilateral trading system.  This 
will eventually lead to a better regulated multilateral trading system and promote trade as an engine of 
growth aiming at reaching our overall objective of  equitable and just dissemination of economic 
prosperity in the world.   Jordan welcomes the recommendations contai ned in the 2009 Annual Report of the Council 
for TRIPS regarding the non-violation and situ ation complaints, and the General Council's 
recommendations regarding the extension of the e-commerce moratorium and the work programme 
contained therein.   Jordan is a small, globalized economy and has been since its accession in 2000, honouring its 
commitments despite the extensive concessions made  to join the Organization as a recently acceded 
member, and I take this opportunity to reiterate Jord an's commitment to play an effective and active 
role within the WTO. 
 WT/MIN(09)/ST/67 
Page 2  
 
   As a member of the RAMs Group, Jordan supports the communication submitted reflecting 
the group's concerns on some aspects of the ne gotiations within the DDA, and requests Member 
States to kindly take them into consid eration during the negotiations process. 
  Jordan stresses the need for Member States to give due consideration to the special needs of 
developing countries, and particularly RAMs, no ting the extensive commitments made upon their 
accession to WTO.  RAMs should be accorded a specia l treatment in the negotiations to enable them 
to overcome the challenges that their economic sect ors have been facing due to the liberalization 
resulting from accession commitments.  
 On accessions issues, Jordan calls on Member s to work on expediting the accession process 
for States and separate customs territories, and strongly supports the request of Palestine, as a separate 
customs territory, for Observer status in the WTO' s General Council and its subsidiary bodies, as well 
as the request of Syria for accession.  
 The Arab countries in the WTO are striving to pl ay a more active and constructive role in the 
WTO as we realize the growing importance of th e multilateral trading system.  There are 12 WTO 
Arab Member States, and another seven Arab count ries seeking accession:  namely Algeria, Comoros, 
Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, and Yemen;  and we  strongly urge WTO Member States to expedite and 
facilitate their accession.  
 A major impediment for active participation in the WTO meetings, workshops and symposia, 
is the working languages, as the current WTO working languages − limited to English, French and 
Spanish − make it hard for capital-based experts to discuss and digest proposals and documentation 
issued by the Secretariat and to act and react in  an effective manner.  The Arabic language has 
become a working language in many UN and interna tional organizations and it is really practical to 
have it as a new WTO working language.  Jordan ca lls on Member States to consider adding Arabic 
as a working language in the WTO.  
 Finally, Jordan would like to welcome Tonga , Ukraine and Cape Verde as new Members of 
this organization.   We wish a full success for this Conference, a nd we look forward to our next Conference to 
finalize a historical deal of the DDA and reach a successful conclusion of the DDA in the year 2010. 
 
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