. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/ST/66 
17 December 2011  
 
(11-6643) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original:   English 
 
  
NEPAL 
 
Statement by H.E. Mr Lekh Raj Bhatta 
Minister of Commerce and Supplies 
  
Nepal welcomes the Russian Federation, Vanuatu, Samoa and Montenegro as new Members 
of the Organization.  In their Memberships, the Organization moves towards inclusiveness, and 
universality. 
 
I fully endorse the statements made by the Honourable Ministers of Bangladesh and Paraguay 
on behalf of the LDCs and LLDCs groups respectively. 
 
This conference is taking place at a crucial time when we are hit with a rolling global 
economic crisis, including food crisis, energy crisis , and climate change challenges.  The weakest and 
poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable remain hard hit.  We have a challenge to make the 
global trading system fully responsive to the needs and aspirations of majority of the people.  
Nepal is in the midst of historic political tr ansformation.  Low growth, high unemployment, 
pervasive poverty and widespread deprivation are politically, economically and socially unacceptable.  
Our priority is social and economic transformati on within a democratic framework.  We consider 
trade as an instrument in the transformation process.  
A fair, inclusive and transparent multilatera l trading system is a global public good.  
We reaffirm our strong political commitment to  a rule-based and non-discriminatory multilateral 
trading system.  Attempts to look for any alterna tive to multilateralism would be an inferior choice. 
 
Nepal is very much concerned at the impasse in  Doha Round.  Nepal urges the major players 
to display leadership and flexibilities and work  through a multilateral process for a balanced, 
ambitious and specific outcome with clarity  and precision on its development contents. 
 
Trade expansion needs a network of infrastruct ures and supply capacities.  Aid for Trade is 
central to develop the necessary infrastructures, institutions and technical capacity to harness the 
benefits from trade.  Aid for Trade should be additi onal, targeted, predictable and sustainable, and in 
the form of grants.  We call for immediate operationalization of core principles of the Special and 
Differential treatment provisions made in the WTO agreements. 
 
In this globalized and interconnected world, no country can be left behind.  LDCs issues 
provide life and substance to the process we are involved in.  For any forward movement in the 
Doha Agenda, Nepal calls for the immediate implemen tation of the early harvest provisions, inclusive 
of DFQF market access for all products from all LDCs with simplified rules of origin, cotton issues 
and LDCs' service waiver.  We call for immedi ate improvement and operationalization of the 
2002 WTO accession guidelines and technical assistan ce to expedite the accession process for LDCs. WT/MIN(11)/ST/66 
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People's uprisings across different continents are sending a message that denial of dignity 
cannot continue and equal and fair opportunities mu st be guaranteed.  We need to examine and 
analyse the ground realities from all perspectives and en sure that the legitima te aspirations of the 
people are at the centre and benefits from global tr ading system are fair, equitable and accessible to 
the bottom billion. 
 
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