Statement by His Excellency Brigadier-General Tin Naing Thein,

Minister for Commerce of the Union of Myanmar,

 at the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference

(Hong Kong, 17 December 2005)

Madam Chairperson / Mr. Chairman,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates, Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

                   I feel highly honoured and privileged to address the plenary of the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the WTO.

                  I should also like to associate myself with previous speakers in expressing our deep appreciation and thanks to the Government of the SAR of Hong Kong, China for the excellent arrangements made for this Conference.

                   On this occasion, my delegation would like to warmly welcome Saudi Arabia and Tonga as new members of the WTO family.

                   At this historic and crucial Conference, it is important for every member country to display strong leadership and sincere political will in order to produce results which would facilitate the successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round in time.

                   The ongoing negotiations on many important issues are facing difficult challenges, out of which, those on agriculture, which are of significant importance to my country, are fragile and politically sensitive.

Mr. Chairman,

                   From Myanmar’s perspective, agriculture is the mainstay of our economy. Our economy is mainly based on the export of primary agricultural products. In this context, market entry and sustainability of market opportunity for agricultural products remain a major issue of concern for Myanmar. Supply side constraints such as technical requirements and capacity building to produce value-added goods are difficulties facing us domestically, while lack of competitiveness to enter new export markets and the viability and sustainability of existing markets are obstacles facing developing countries.

                   In the light of these constraints, Myanmar supports efforts in the WTO to make significant reductions in the domestic and export subsidies in the agricultural sector and for their effective and efficient implementation in a timely manner.

                  Myanmar welcomes the decision of TRIPS Council adopted on 29^th November this year, for the extension of transition period for LDCs. Since we have made commitments under the TRIPS Agreement, arrangements are under process to finalize the required legal system to protect the intellectual property rights. In this regard, we encourage the acceleration of the technical assistance provided by the WIPO and WTO with a view to undertake a systematic implementation.

                   In the services sector, Mode 4 is the major focus for LDCs in the services negotiations. As you are aware, other modes of supply are underdeveloped for the LDCs export capacity. Although we agree that the liberalization of services trade will contribute to the development of the economy of countries, the developing countries and particularly the LDCs are however, unable to move forward in their efforts to further liberalize this sector in the absence of guarantees for technology transfer and investment in infrastructure development.

Mr. Chairman,

                   Myanmar is actively participating in the activities of trade facilitation in the South East Asia region and we believe that this issue plays a vital role for the world’s trading cooperation concerns. Sufficient technical assistance and capacity building projects are required for our officials to better understand trade facilitation measures.

                   Myanmar believes that the accession process of the LDCs should be accelerated so that they become full-fledged members of the WTO in their own right.

                   Special and Differential Treatment is a significant factor of the developing countries and especially the LDCs in their implementation WTO obligations. The narrower the gap of development between members, the lesser the provision of S&D Treatment. To narrow development gap, exports of developing countries and LDCs in particular should be treated as special cases.

Mr. Chairman,

                   I wish to conclude my statement with a note of cautious optimism for the successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round by the end of 2006 and towards this end, I sincerely hope that the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference would contribute in an important way.

Thank you for your kind attention.