. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/136 
17 December 2005 
 (05-6148) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
JORDAN 
 
Statement by HE Mr Sharif Al-Zu'bi
 
Minister of Industry and Trade  
  
It is indeed a great honour for me to address such a distinguished gathering at this Sixth 
Session of the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference.  On behalf of the Government of 
Jordan, I would like to thank the authorities of Hong Kong, China and its people for their gracious 
hospitality and excellent organization of this important event.  I also  extend my thanks to  Mr John C 
Tsang, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, Chairman  of the Ministerial Conference, Director-General 
Pascal Lamy, HE Ms Amina Mohamed, Chairman  of the General Council, and to the WTO 
Secretariat for the tremendous efforts they have put into the preparation of this Conference. 
We are all gathered here with an essential goal.   The Doha Ministerial Conference delivered a 
very ambitious agenda and launched a promisi ng round of negotiations, and it is a shared 
responsibility among all of us to bring this Round to  a successful conclusion.  Let us not repeat our 
disappointment in Seattle and Cancún. 
We hope that the outcome of this Ministerial C onference will not be limited to stock-taking of 
progress in the negotiations, but will lead to conc rete modalities that will move these negotiations 
forward and faithfully implement the Doha Development Agenda. 
We all know that we have re-calibrated the am bitions of this Ministerial Conference to a 
launching pad on the road to reach full modalities, but this does not mean that we have downgraded 
the Doha Development Agenda. 
It is vital that we strengthen our efforts and enhance our commi tment to constructively engage 
in the negotiations with a view to  successfully completing the Doha Work Programme, at the latest by 
the end of 2006.  We believe that this will cont ribute to a more viable, equitable and durable 
multilateral trading system with benefits for all. 
We applaud the progress made on the TRIPS and public health issue and welcome the 
decision of the General Council dated 6 December 2005 on the amendments to the TRIPS Agreement. 
For agriculture and non-agriculture negotiations , Jordan stresses the importance of agreeing to 
a formula that will lead to fair ma rket access for all, with special attention being paid to developing 
countries.  Moreover, it is important that this R ound of negotiations properly addresses all aspects of 
distortive measures, non-tariff barriers and erosion of preferences.  Jordan would also like to reconfirm that donor countries should seek to increase their food aid commitments to provide 
adequate and predictable amounts to developing an d net food-importing countries, in line with the 
Marrakesh Declaration. WT/MIN(05)/ST/136 
Page 2  
 
 In the area of services negotiations, Jordan welcomes the progress achieved so far and will 
remain positively engaged in these negotiations in or der to secure the maximum benefits and interests 
of all Members.  We welcome the initial and revise d offers submitted so far, but we also share the 
overall disappointment in the quality of the offers  in terms of substance and number of new and 
improved commitments that limit market access. 
Jordan, as a recently acceded Member, that unde rtook commitments far in excess to those 
undertaken by Members at a comparable or higher le vel of economic development, stresses the need 
to accommodate its extensive commitments within th is Round of negotiations.  Special treatment and 
appropriate flexibility should be provided fo r recently acceded Members in market access 
negotiations in goods and services.  Furthermore, su ch treatment and flexibility should be effectively 
addressed within the modalities for the negotiations on agriculture and non-agricultural goods.  Jordan 
would like to stress the importance of other WTO Members reaching a similar level of commitments in different negotiating areas.  This will contribute to achieving a fair and balanced rule-based trading 
system. 
The emphasis on capacity-building and aid for trade in these negotiations will have a 
significant impact on overcoming the shortcomings that small developing countries are confronting. 
Furthermore, greater coherence should be sought amongst international institutions to promote the 
understanding of the linkages between trade a nd other related issues i.e. poverty reduction 
programmes, debt and socio economic programmes.  In this regard, regional trade, economic and 
financial organizations have an important role to play in facilitating trade liberalization and 
implementing WTO agreements, and accordingly mu st allocate the resources to achieve better 
technical assistance and capacity-building programmes. 
It is our belief that technical assistance and capacity building are core elements of the 
development dimension of the multilateral trading sy stem.  Hence, we call on our developed partners 
to adequately finance technical assistance programmes for Arab States.  We also call upon all relevant 
organizations to continue their work to e xpeditiously finalize the Arab JITAP Programme. 
As the coordinator of the Arab Group, I would like to stress that the negotiating positions of 
the Arab countries as reflected in the Amman Decl aration in document (WT/L/624) should be fully 
taken into account in the outcome of this Conference. 
In conclusion, Jordan sincerely welcomes the accession of new Members who have 
completed their accession process since the last Ministerial, particularly Saudi Arabia.  We are very confident that such accession will positively advan ce the contribution of the Arab economies to the 
multilateral trading system.  Likewise, we urge  Members to accelerate the accession process of 
Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan and Yemen and to effectively implement the decision dated 
10 December 2002.  We support Syria's request submitte d for an observer status in the Organization.  
We also welcome the participation of the Pale stinian National Authority as observer in this 
Conference as well as the participation of the Ar ab Agricultural Development Organization hoping 
that other Arab organizations will have the opportunity to be granted similar status in the near future. 
Before I conclude, let me stress the fact that this Ministerial Conference is a critical 
benchmark for the Doha Round.  Ou r work here should confirm that  we are all still committed to the 
rule-based multilateral trading system and the road map drawn in Doha. 
Let us hope that this Conference will result in  positive and balanced outcomes that bring 
prosperity to all Members. 
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