. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/92 
16 December 2005 
 (05-6101) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   French 
 
  
LUXEMBOURG 
 
Statement by HE Mr Nicolas Schmit
 
Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs and Immigration  
  
 I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and gratitude to the 
Hong Kong, China authorities for their warm welcome and impeccable organization of this 
Conference.  I would also like to thank our Director-General, Mr Pascal Lamy, for his unwavering 
commitment to the effort to reconcile the various  points of view,  and for patiently working on 
compromises for the sake of progress.  May I also take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Chairperson of the General Council, Ambassador Am ina Mohamed of Kenya, who had so masterfully 
presided over the preparatory work in Geneva.  
 The World Trade Organization was ten years old this year.  Since its establishment in 1995, 
the Ministerial meetings at Singapore, Geneva, S eattle, Doha, Cancún, and now in Hong Kong, have 
all been important and sometimes difficult mileston es.  As our Director-General has pointed out, 
concepts such as transparen cy, universal participation, considerat ion for the interests of each Member 
State, irrespective of its trading power, size or le vel of development,  have increasingly inspired the 
work of the Organization.  We have thus strengt hened the multilateral trading system based on rules 
that favour trade liberalization, while helping th e neediest States to make progress on the road to 
sustainable economic development.   It was at Doha that we adopted this ambitious but crucial twofold objective, since it is inadmissible that a growing sector of humanity should continue to be excluded from economic and 
social progress.  Development is therefore at the core of our work.  Increased trade and the fuller 
integration of developing, and particularly, least developed countries is cruc ial to economic growth 
and poverty eradication.   Globalization could present an opportunity for all countries to participate equitably in the 
creation of wealth, and thereby contribute to c onflict prevention and to international peace and 
security.   The Doha Round fits perfectly within the obj ectives of the Millenni um Development Goals 
and poverty reduction.  We share an enormous respons ibility to contribute to the success of this great 
ambition which is clearly urgent. 
  It is for this reason that, here in Hong Kong, a symbol of breathtaking progress largely due to its opening to the world, we must send a strong an d clear signal in support of the least developed 
countries.  Across-the-board duty and quota-free access  to the markets of industrialized countries, 
along the lines of the European Union's "Everyth ing But Arms" initiative, should be the central 
element of a "development package" approved at th is Conference.  Other countries could gradually 
improve access to their markets in the same wa y.  The Doha Round would therefore gather new 
momentum.  With such a breakthrough, the rapid conclusion of the Round would be that much better. WT/MIN(05)/ST/92 
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 Enhanced aid for trade should allow the least de veloped countries to take full advantage of the 
multilateral system and its rules.  The institutional capacities of these countries must be strengthened.  
In this context, official development assistance, like the financial assistance granted by international 
organizations, should facilitate certain adjustme nts, which have become necessary because of 
preference erosion. 
 
My country has significantly increased its cont ribution to the Doha Development Agenda 
Global Trust Fund.   
 In this connection, I shall confine myself to raising two further important points:   
- The need to reach a balanced agreemen t on trade in cotton to ensure that 
developing countries,  and West African cotton producers in particular, are not penalized; 
- the establishment of special and differential treatment that guarantees 
flexibilities which the least devel oped countries absolutely need. 
While Luxemburg attaches partic ular importance to developmen t issues in these negotiations, 
as a member of the European Union, we would al so like to achieve a comprehensive and balanced 
outcome to the Doha Round.  Such an agreement is possible, but it can be only realized if each party 
benefits.  In the remaining hours available to us, we should promote th is positive and realistic 
approach so that this Conferen ce lays a solid foundation on which we can together construct an 
overall agreement. 
Agriculture is certainly one of the major t opics in these negotiations.  The European Union 
has presented a serious and ambitious offer on the re moval of export subsidies and the reduction of 
customs duties on agricultural products.  It would be  a grave mistake to mi nimize the considerable 
progress that could be achieved if all parti es undertook clear and transparent commitments. 
We should also aim for the achievement of s ubstantial and effective reductions in customs 
duties for manufactured products (NAMA) by applying the Swiss Formula in one form or another. 
The countries that have experienced economic gr owth and particularly robust development in 
recent years should fully participate in th is new dismantling of trade barriers.  
The opening of the services sector, which is taking on increasing importance in the 
industrialized countries and the emerging economies, should also remain one of the major objectives 
of this Round.  It is an essential element for a balanced agreement that generates growth and 
employment. 
This Conference in Hong Kong could mark a real turning point in trade negotiations and play 
an important role in the achievement of more balanced development of the global economy.  In 
preparing for this success we could here and now advance international solidarity and steer 
globalization along a new course.  Let us not waste this opportunity. 
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