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Following is the opening address by the Chairman of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, Mr John Tsang, at a press conference of Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of World Trade Organization today (December 13) with WTO Director-General, Mr Pascal Lamy:
Thank you Keith,
First, let me once again welcome you to Hong Kong. It's good to see you here in such large members. I hope you will all go home happy with a good Hong Kong experience after the Ministerial. And I hope you finish up with a good story.
Of course, your idea of a good story and mine might be different. But I hope we can finish this meeting next Sunday with some solid and credible achievements behind us. Without substantial forward momentum in Hong Kong, it would be largely unlikely that we would be able to finish by the end of 2006.
So we have a lot on our plate, and some hard bargaining ahead of us. Believe me, these next five or six days will see some serious negotiating. And the different permutations of interaction are just mind-boggling.
We have a good basis on which to start. The draft Ministerial Declaration which our ambassadors in Geneva have sent to their Ministers here is a significant document. It is a real achievement to produce the first agreed Ministerial text ever to be put before Ministers. And notwithstanding the fact that it contains matters to be resolved, that of itself should give us impetus in Hong Kong.
The world - particularly the developing world - is watching and waiting. They expect us to produce results. Since we are not able to achieve full modalities here as we had originally hoped, they are looking to us to produce a platform from which we can do so, perhaps in the Spring of next year. We are all acutely aware that the end of 2006 is a real deadline. It's a deadline the WTO can't afford to miss.
I believe the atmospherics for Hong Kong are good. Certainly better than they were prior to Cancun.
You will know that I have placed a lot of emphasis as Chairman and host on development issues. This is after all the Doha Development Agenda, with development at front and centre of its mandate. I will be working hard with Ministers on getting concrete results on a number of important development issues.
There has already been a good start on a number of important development issues.
Let me emphasise, however, that these are not, indeed they cannot be a substitute for the real development gains which must flow from new market access, new trading opportunities. Reflecting the broad consensus on the need for progress in these areas, we are thus focusing our work initially on three tracks: Agriculture, Non-Agricultural Market Access and specific development issues.
On the latter, we have got off to a good start with the agreement in Geneva last week to formalize WTO rules giving poor countries access to generic drugs to deal with serious health issues, for example. I'll be lobbying my colleagues to build on that.
I'd like to add one thing: as chairman, I want to make this meeting as inclusive and as transparent as I can. We started with a bottom-up of process in Geneva which enabled us to get agreement on the Ministerial Declaration. I intend to follow that wise course here in Hong Kong.
Finally, I hope that the facilities we have produced for you here will help you in your work. Your coverage of the conference is important in letting the world know about what is happening in Hong Kong.
We are a Member driven organization that comes to agreement by consensus. I hope Members come up with a good story in the coming week for world trade - and in particular for the developing world.
Thank you.
Ends/Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Issued at HKT 18:58
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