Thank you Chair.
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
As the Chair has indicated, we think it may be helpful to crystalize the process that lies ahead of us.
Our work here essentially falls into two tracks.
The
first covers the
potential deliverables.
The
second covers the
Ministerial Declaration.
I will describe the process for the first track now – and then hand back to the Chair to talk about the second – the process for finalising the Ministerial Declaration.
In terms of the potential deliverables, I want to start by giving you a clearer overview of the state of play.
Three draft Decisions are already before you. These are:
- A draft decision on the Work Programme on Small Economies.
- A draft decision on TRIPS Non-violation and Situation Complaints.
- A draft decision on Electronic Commerce.
You will be called upon to take
final decisions on these draft decisions from Geneva at the end of this Conference.
Now let's turn to the issues being negotiated under the Doha agenda.
As I have said, after Bali we tried to advance all Doha issues, but in some areas that proved very difficult. We tried hard, we attempted to be creative, but still no progress was possible, especially in central issues.
However, we have made progress in a number of important areas in Geneva – but even there we are not as advanced as we would have liked to be at this point.
In most cases we do not currently have texts before us to discuss. Instead we are talking on the basis of a variety of proposals from Members.
Let me quickly run through the situation for each of the potential deliverables as we have brought them here from Geneva.
I will start with
Agriculture, where a range of issues are under consideration.
On
Export Competition we have a text which compiles a number of proposals. Members have been trying to find convergence on the outstanding issues.
An outcome here would be extremely significant. In fact, it would be the WTO's most significant negotiated outcome on agriculture.
The elimination of agricultural export subsidies, and disciplines on measures with equivalent effect, would be especially important for developing and least-developed countries. However, there is still a lot of ground to cover if we are to converge during this conference.
Still under the agriculture heading, let me say a word about
Public Stockholding for Food Security.
We have a text which compiles the various proposals, but the latest consultations have not so far taken us appreciably closer to convergence. Significant further work is required.
Turning to the
Special Safeguard Mechanism, here we have a text which compiles the various proposals. But consultations have continued to show entrenched and widely divergent positions. Clearly this is an area where significant further work and compromise will be needed.
On
cotton, which is particularly important for the LDCs, we do have a draft text.
Members have been negotiating around on a proposal circulated by the Cotton-4, and on this basis a draft text has been circulated by the Chair on his own responsibility. Of course there are still some outstanding and often controversial issues for Ministers to consider and decide upon.
Now let me turn to
transparency issues.
On
transparency in services, we have two recently submitted proposals on possible outcomes. The negotiating gaps are very, very large still.
In the
Rules area, we have proposals for outcomes, notably in fisheries subsidies and in anti-dumping and countervailing measures. So, in both of these areas we have proposals but no consolidated texts.
Now let's look at
Special and Differential Treatment for developing countries & LDCs.
Here members have been working to refine a long list of proposals. The chair has issued a draft text on the elements which she thinks are harvestable. This is in front of ministers for their consideration.
Then we have a number of issues of interest for
LDCs.
With regard to
LDCs and services, we have a chair's draft text based on a proposal from the LDC Group, with a view to bridging gaps between delegations' positions and advancing the process.
On
LDC rules of origin, again we have a chair's draft text – and we are making progress. There are only one or two issues remaining to be sorted out.
Finally, on
DFQF, we have had no textual proposals and without this it is difficult to secure any outcomes here.
So this is what we brought from Geneva. It is not ideal – but we have to work with what we have.
Given the number and complexity of these issues, combined with their different levels of maturity, we need to be quite clear about the process for taking these potential deliverables forward.
We need to find a way of translating this Geneva work into something that ministers can deal with here in Nairobi
We can't simply combine all of this into one single process. The issues are too varied and so is the nature of the engagement required.
Therefore we think that we need to allow the Geneva process to continue for a few more hours – in order to get us into a position where we have texts that can be put before ministers for their consideration.
Then we will meet tomorrow at 3pm with all Heads of Delegation to take stock of progress.
We should aim, by that point, to have texts which are very mature, with just a few options which require political decisions.
At the same time, in order to make the shift from the Geneva process to a ministerial process, the Chair and I believe that we must maintain a coherent issue-by-issue focus. We have, therefore, requested the assistance of a number of Ministers who have kindly agreed to help us as friends of the chair to facilitate the discussions on some of the potential deliverables.
- On the agriculture issues, including Cotton, we have asked Minister Joshua Setipa of Lesotho to facilitate discussions on our behalf.
- On the LDC issues, excluding cotton, we have asked Minister François Kanimba of Rwanda.
- On Special and Differential Treatment issues we have asked Minister Lilianne Ploumen of the Netherlands.
- And on transparency issues in rules we have asked Minister Arnold Nicholson of Jamaica.
They will be assisted by the Ambassadors who chaired the related groups in the Geneva process – or who acted as Friends of the Chair. And, of course, throughout this process, these Facilitators will be working closely with the Chair of the Ministerial Conference, the Chairman of the General Council, and myself.
To ensure a fully transparent and inclusive process, the Facilitators will regularly report to open-ended meetings at the level of Heads of Delegation on progress in their respective areas.
We will also ask them to make themselves available to all delegations wishing to raise issues of particular concern, and to seek the views of interested Ministers.
Let me say as well that this will
not be a continuation of the same work with a different chair. Rather, this new process will be aimed at taking the work to a different level.
These will be political level discussions. The 'Minister-Facilitators' will be convening meetings and facilitating discussions amongst other ministers.
Meetings will be taking place at short notice in a wide range of configurations.
I am sure that there will be some scheduling clashes between meetings. But given the time we have available this will be unavoidable. I urge you to be ready to engage on the full range of issues and to be as flexible as possible.
The proponents will have a particularly important role during these conversations. We need them to work hard to advance their issues and search out convergence.
It will be difficult, but given the package of issues that we brought here from Geneva, the Chair and I believe that this is the only way we can progress.
We will be here throughout, trying to help and trying to find convergence.
But let me say now – there will be no magic solutions here.
It would not be possible – even if it were desirable – for myself and the Chair to provide a text in each area which solves the contentious issues.
There are simply too many issues on the table and too many outstanding gaps to bridge. The only way will be to work in a focused, parallel manner on all of the different elements.
The work starts now. When we meet in this format tomorrow at 3:00 pm, we should be aiming to have texts which are more mature, and which are ready for full political engagement.
We will do everything we can to support this work.
Now I will hand back to our Chair to review the process on the Ministerial Declaration.
Thank you for listening.
