RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/AG/R/22 
14 May 2009 
 
 (09-2363) 
Committee on Agriculture 
Special Session  
 
 
 
SUMMARY REPORT OF THE THIRTY-F OURTH FORMAL SPECIAL SESSION 
OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE 
HELD ON 22 APRIL 2009 
 
Note by the Secretariat1 
  
1. The Special Session of the Committee on Agri culture, established by the General Council 
(WT/GC/M/53), is pursuing negotiati ons under paragraphs 13, 14 and ot her relevant provisions of the 
Doha Ministerial Declaration.  The 34
th Formal Special Session was held on 22 April 2009. 
2. The agenda as contained in WTO/AIR/3351 of 16 April 2009 was adopted. 
ITEM A:  ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON  
3. The Chairman of the General Council, Ambassador Matus of Chile opened the 34th Formal 
Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture because the previous Chairman, Ambassador 
Crawford Falconer of New Zealand, had been re called to his capital and was unable to chair the 
meeting.  In keeping with the agreement reached  by the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) at its 
first meeting in January and February 2002 regardin g the appointment of Chairs of the TNC and of 
the bodies established by it, the Chairman of the Ge neral Council, Ambassador Matus of Chile, with 
the assistance of Ambassador Gero of Canada an d Ambassador Noor of Malaysia had undertaken 
consultations regarding the appointment of a succes sor to Ambassador Falconer.  These consultations 
had shown a consensus among Members to appoint Am bassador David Walker of New Zealand as the 
Chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture and the Sub-Committee on Cotton.  
The rules of procedure required that this appointme nt be agreed by the Committee on Agriculture in 
its Special Session.  It was so agreed. 
4. Prior to the election of the new Chairman, Am bassador Matus expressed his appreciation for 
work of the outgoing Chairman, Ambassador Falcon er.  Ambassador Matus noted that Ambassador 
Falconer's hard work, patience, and his sense of hum our had allowed Members to make considerable 
progress in the Doha agriculture negotiations. 
5. In taking up his new appointment, Ambassador Walk er thanked the efforts of the Chairman of 
the General Council and his assistants in conducting c onsultations with the Membership to effect the 
change of Chairmanship transparently and exped itiously.  He also thanked the Members for their 
support in electing him as Chairman of the Committ ee on Agriculture in Special Session and the Sub-
Committee on Cotton and thanked his predecessor fo r his tireless efforts seeking convergence on a 
modalities package that would meet w ith the approval of the Membership. 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO. TN/AG/R/22 
Page 2  
 
  6. Ambassador Walker noted that his first duty as Chairman would be to attend the Director-
General's Consultative Framework on the Developm ent Aspects of Cotton where he would report on 
the state of play in the Agriculture negotiations. 
7. With respect to the agriculture negotiations th e Chairman noted that as he had just been 
elected to the Chair, he would need time to take st ock and in this regard w ould meet with delegations, 
including group coordinators, to ascertain their views before outlining a future work programme.  
Once the Chairman had gathered his thoughts on po ssible future steps he indicated that he would 
convene an informal Special Session. 
S
TATEMENTS BY PARTICIPANTS  
8. In welcoming the incoming Chair, the representative of Cuba noted that it would be important 
for the Chairman to use time effi ciently.  There was no need to rei nvent the wheel in the negotiations, 
thus Members should not ignore the work done by th e previous Chairman.  Cuba was ready to help 
the new Chairman bring forward the future work of the negotiations and wished him luck for the 
difficult times ahead. 
9. With reference to Chairman's statement that he  would meet with delegations, including group 
coordinators, the Cuban representative noted th at the Chairman's predecessor had engaged in 
consultations at all levels.  Cuba  recommended that the Chairman meet with his predecessor to get his 
assessment of the current state of play in the nego tiations.  The representative of Cuba paid tribute to 
the previous Chairman, Ambassador Falconer. 
10. The representative of Brazil, on behalf of th e G-20, welcomed Ambassador Walker as the 
new Chairman of the agriculture negotiations and i ndicated the group's prepar edness to work hard and 
engage fully under his leadership.  Agriculture rema ined at the heart of the Doha Development Round 
and the G-20 would continued to strive for a balan ced, ambitious and developm ent oriented outcome.  
The representative of Brazil expressed the G-20's appreci ation for the work of the previous Chairman.  
The latest draft modalities text of December 2008 issued by Ambassador Falconer embodied the 
intensive effort by Members over the past few year s and was the product of a multilateral, transparent 
and bottom-up process.  As such, it should be preserved and built upon as ne gotiations continued. 
11. On behalf of the Cairns Group the Ambass ador of Australia expressed the group's 
appreciation for the outstanding work done by Amba ssador Falconer during his tenure as Chairman of 
the agriculture negotiations since September 2005.  Ambassador Falconer's formidable expertise, 
energy and unflagging commitment had contribute d to the significant progress that had been 
achieved.  The Ambassador of Australia also welc omed Ambassador Walker to the Chair, noting that 
he was well respected in many capitals and that the Cairns Group had complete confidence in his 
ability to start where his predecessor had left off.  In this regard, the Cairns Group looked forward to 
working with Ambassador Walker in the future. 
12. The representative of Switzerland, on behalf of  the G-10, congratulated Ambassador Walker 
on his election.  The G-10 gave their full support to the new Chairman and in this regard was looking 
forward to working with the new Chairman and othe r Members for the swift conclusion of the Round.  
The G-10 was ready to meet with the new Chai rman at the earliest convenient moment.  The 
representative of Switzerland also noted the G-10' s appreciation of the work of the previous 
Chairman.  The G-10 had been impressed with Ambassador Falconer's skills, technical knowledge, 
strategic thinking and political awareness.  Ambass ador Falconer had patiently  listen to all Members' 
positions without dismissing any opinions, took acc ount of sensitivities and had tried to challenge 
Members, which forced them to engage and be r ealistic.  This had resulted in progress beyond what 
most thought possible, with each of Ambassador  Falconer's draft modalities texts progressively  TN/AG/R/22 
 Page 3 
 
 
  narrowing the differences in positions.  The G-10 felt th at the latest draft modalities text, issued by 
Ambassador Falconer in December  2008 should remain the basis for Members' future negotiations. 
13. The Ambassador of Mauritius, on behalf of the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific 
countries (ACP) joined other Members in congratul ating Ambassador Walker on his appointment as 
the new Chairman of the Agriculture negotiatio ns.  The appointment of the third consecutive 
New Zealand Ambassador as Chairman of the Agriculture negotiations reflected well on 
New Zealand's reputation and contribution to the global trading system.  In this regard, the 
Ambassador of Mauritius paid tribute to the wo rk of Ambassador Falconer, who had earned the 
respect of the Membership during his tenure, and praised his ability to find common ground on many 
difficult issues.  The ACP was particularly grateful for his skill, creativity, understanding and effort in 
trying to thread a way through some difficult issu es of key interest to the group.  Ambassador 
Falconer would be remembered for breakthrou ghs on many seemingly intractable issues. 
14. The ACP considered that there remained cont entious issues in the negotiations which were 
neither too big to break the round, nor too small to  be disposed of easily.  In moving the process 
forward, the new Chairman needed to be mindful of  the principles of transparency and inclusiveness.  
The ACP had trust in the leadership and commitment  of Ambassador Walker and fully supported him 
in bringing the Agriculture negotiations to a successf ul conclusion.  The ACP was ready to meet with 
the Chairman in any consultations. 
15. The Ambassador of Indonesia, on behalf of th e G-33, congratulated Ambassador Walker on 
his election as the new Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session.  Agriculture 
was at the heart of the Doha negotiations and was the issue that set the level of ambition for the 
negotiations as a whole.  Therefore, progress in agri culture would very much affect progress in other 
areas of the Doha negotiations.  A lot of progress ha d been made in the agriculture negotiations and 
now the new Chairman would have the task of fini shing the last few miles.  The G-33 would support 
him in his endeavour.  The G-33 was ready to participate actively in the negotiations towards achieving a balanced and pro-development outcome in agriculture negotiations under the leadership 
of Ambassador Walker, in a multilateral, bo ttom-up, inclusive and transparent process. 
16. The G-33 was of the opinion that the fourth revision of the draft modalities text would serve 
as a good basis for re-engagement in a multilateral pr ocess.  This text, issued by the previous 
Chairman, had brought the negotiations close to a conclusion.  Ambassa dor Falconer had done his 
best to push the negotiations forward, dedicating mo st of his time and intellectual capacity to bring 
about compromise amongst Members.  For this, the G-33 extended its deepest appreciation and 
wished him well for success in his next endeavour. 
17. The Ambassador of Turkey congratulated Am bassador Walker on his election as the new 
Chairman of the Agriculture negotiations and e xpressed his country's gratitude to the previous 
Chairman.  The Ambassador of Turkey noted that  the Chairman would have to contend with the 
additional complexity of the on-goi ng economic crisis which had made agriculture even more critical 
for the livelihood of large numbers of small farmers. 
18. Speaking on behalf of the recently acceded Members (RAMs) group, the representative of 
Chinese Taipei joined other colleagues in warm ly welcoming Ambassador Walker as the new 
Chairman of the Agriculture negotiations.  While undoubtedly this new position would be 
challenging, the representative of Chinese Taipei not ed the RAMs group was confident that under his 
leadership beneficial results for all Members could be harvested in the near future.  The RAMs group 
was also looking forward to the ch ance to meet with the new Chairm an to share with him some of 
their specific concerns regarding the draft modalities.   The representative of Chinese Taipei also noted 
the RAMs group's appreciation for the enormous effo rts of the previous Chairman and for his ability 
in guiding the negotiating process. TN/AG/R/22 
Page 4  
 
  19. The representative of Barbados, on behalf of the small, vulnerable economies (SVEs) 
congratulated Ambassador Walker on his election.   The representative noted that significant progress 
had been made in the negotiations under the prev ious chairmanship of Ambassador Falconer.  The 
SVEs looked forward to completing the task at hand under the guidance of the new Chairman.  In this 
respect, the group looked forward to a close partne rship with Ambassador Walker in addressing their 
remaining concerns and was ready to meet with him as necessary. 
20. On behalf of the least-developed countries (LDC s), the Ambassador of Tanzania welcomed 
Ambassador Walker as the new Chairman of the ag riculture negotiations.  The Ambassador noted the 
LDC group's appreciation for the leadership of his predecessor, Ambassador Falconer, particularly his 
ability to steer the agriculture negotiations an d to find ways of accommodating the views from 
different quarters.  The Ambassador of Tanzania not ed that agriculture formed the mainstay of most 
LDC economies, but agriculture's economic contribu tion had, regrettably, been limited due to 
declining commodity prices.  This had contributed to  a growth in poverty.  Th is situation required the 
international community's consideration and was one reason that the LDCs saw agriculture as the 
primary element of the Doha negotiations.  As such, the development aspects of the Doha Round 
needed to be given the top priority.  The LDCs had confidence in the leadership of Ambassador 
Walker and would fully cooperate with him in order to ensure the agriculture modalities were 
completed as soon as possible, including cotton. 
21. On behalf of the African Group, the Egyptian representative paid tribute and expressed the 
group's sincere gratitude to the former Chairman a nd the effort that he had exerted to advance the 
agriculture negotiations, including the time he had taken to consult with the African Group.  The 
African group congratulated Ambassador Walker on  the assumption to the Chairman of both the 
Committee on Agriculture in Special Session and the Sub-Committee on Cotton and wished him well 
in these challenging positions.  The African Group expr essed their confidence in the leadership of the 
new Chairman and looked forward to working construc tively with him, including in his first round of 
consultations.  The representative of Egypt associat ed his delegation with the statement made by 
Brazil on behalf of the G-20. 
22. On behalf of the Cotton four (C4) Member s, the representative of Mali joined the 
Ambassador of Tanzania on behalf  of the LDCs, the Ambassador of  Mauritius on behalf of the ACP, 
and the representative of Egypt on behalf of the African Group in extending a warm welcome to Ambassador Walker as the new Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session and the 
Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Cotton.  Cotton,  being the backbone for both economic and social 
development in the C4 economies, as well as be ing important to other African cotton producing 
countries, was an important element in the agricultu re negotiations.  The C4 had experienced good co-
operation with former Chairman, Ambassador Falcon er, and the new Chairman could be assured of 
the C4's support.  The C4 would like to see the ne gotiations resume as soon as possible on the basis of 
the December 2008 draft modalities text which w as the result of lengthy negotiations already. 
 
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