RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/LLDC/W/3
5March 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-0894)
Original: English Sub-Committee onLeast-Developed Countries
Fifth Session
STATEMENT BYBANGLADESH INTHE CONTEXT OFTHE PREPARATION
OFTHE HIGH LEVEL MEETING ONLEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Thebusinesslike manner inwhich youhavecommenced ourwork amply indicates thatwe
were vindicated inthetimeandconfidence wehadrepaid inyou.
Your calling thismeeting alsocould notbemore aptly timed. Itwillcarry forward the
momentum generated inthepreparation fortheforthcoming High Level Meeting.
Thedelegations oftheleast-developed countries havealsohadtheopportunity tobrainstorm
oversome oftheconcerned issues. Wehope tobeabletopresent theresulting ideas foryour
consideration. Thepurpose isnottoconfront those thatwere, orwillbe,offered byothers. Theaim
is,forthose identified as"priority beneficiaries", totakepartinwhat wetruly believe should bea
shared endeavour.
Anyattempt toobviate problems thatareeffects mustalsoinvolve anexamination ofcauses.
Thisisthebesttradition ofscientific enquiry. Inourcasetherootcauses ofourproblems arestructural
innature. Thisfactiswidely acknowledged. Tototally overlook thesefundamentals willbetantamount
toquestioning ourintellectual honesty. Wewillnotargue thattheforthcoming Meeting should remove
these causes; forinstance, thatdebts should bewritten offthenandthere. Butwebelieve aportion
oftheallotted timecould beearmarked todiscuss these. Thiscould bedoneatabriefplenary. But
thisshould not,andIunderscore thisemphatically, affect oursubstantive work onselected, andkey,
agenda items. Thatcould proceed simultaneously, including ifneedbe,withthedrafting ofthefinal
document. Thisprocedure willaidtheholistic approach toproblem resolution. Itwillredound to
thebenefit ofallparties.
Inourperception, thedevelopment paradigm involves achain inwhich every concerned agency
hasaspecific contributory roletoplay. Whenever anyoneelement inthechain isconstrained or
impeded, weneedanintegrated approach toremove thedifficulty.
InowrefertotheWTO/UNCTAD/ITC non-paper, dated 13February 1997. Initthereappears
tobeanoverwhelming emphasis onthebuild-up ofthesupply sidecapacity. Also, atendency to
somewhat downplay thecritical issue ofmarket access. Thisisthecaseintheproposed agenda and,
more so,inthestated objectives. Thisimbalance needs tobecorrected. Onmarket access again,
thetextisalsosomewhat vague andnon-committal. There isafeltneedforaspecial preferential regime
toassure improved market access forleast-developed countries. Thisisparticularly trueofproducts
where theyhaveacomparative advantage, andthecapacity toexport, including under theMFA. Even
ifthiswere tobedoneonanautonomous basis, there could beabroad framework ofsome kindof
commitment. Itshould bepossible toevolve anappropriate agreed language inthisregard. Aconceptual
advance onSingapore should notberuled outapriori.
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Theissueofcommodities, andtheirtradeperhaps, require aspecific mention. Attention needs
tobepaidtocommodities related measures which takeaccount ofexisting production andmarketing
realities, andwhich donotplace complete reliance onmarket-driven approaches.
Concerning build-up ofdomestic capabilities toimprove thesupply response, itisimportant
thatleast-developed countries donotcompound theexisting problems ofoversupply generated bythe
fallacy ofcomposition involved inmany countries following similar policy advice simultaneously.
Toavoid thepotential problems offocusing onlyongaining improved preferential market access
forproducts corresponding tocurrent comparative advantages, least-developed countries needconcrete
assistance indeveloping dynamic comparative advantages. Thiscould require greater specificity with
policy commitments oftheHigh Level Meeting withaviewtoachieving higher value-added output.
TheroleofFDImerits amodicum ofcircumspection. There should bethenecessary emphasis
ontheissueofselectivity sothatitsflows match thestrategic objectives tobeachieved through industrial
policy.
Thisbeing ahighlevelmeeting, itsaimshould betoobtain thepolitical commitment totranslate
intoaction some oftheoutstanding measures thathavebeenonthedevelopment agenda foralong
time. Itshould giveveryspecial importance tomuch longer lead-in periods andpreferential treatments
forleast-developed countries inthevarious components oftheUruguay Round Agreement.
Relevant agencies mustbeadequately equipped toundertake theirprojected role. Forinstance,
ITChastheexport promotion techniques butnotperhaps thefinancial wherewithal. Itsfunding
requirements must bemetevenprior totheMeeting. Inthepast, onITCinitiative, anumber of
developing countries hadestablished offices forthepromotion ofimports fromdeveloping countries.
Resourceconstraintsnowlimittheireffectiveness.Wemaydiscusshowtheircapacitiescanbeenhanced.
Similarly, developed anddeveloping countries whoareable, could beencouraged totakemeasures
toinduce investments inleast-developed countries. Cells oroffices forsupporting thisactivity could
besetupinthesame manner as"import-promotion offices". UNCTAD 'slongexperience withthe
development process must beeffectively utilized, aswearepositive itwillbedone.
Since needless delay maydampen enthusiasm, theendofJunecould beasuitable dateforour
meeting back-to-back withtheSpecial Seminar onprivate sector resource mobilization. However,
thetimeconstraint mustnotbesuchsoastoimpair theability oftheauthorities toundertake necessary
andadequate preparations. Nevertheless, Iunderstand thattheSecretariats willbeabletocomplete
thepreparatory process intime. They must startthiswithout further ado.
Amonitoring mechanism onimplementations ofMeeting decisions should alsobesetup.
There isnofinality about all,orany,ofthese ideas. There isnowishtoimpose all,orany,
ofthese thoughts. These willevolve further aswedeliberate. These willbeenriched further byother
contributions. AllofuswanttoseeourMeeting succeed. Allofuswishforconcrete results. There
isaburgeoning spirit ofcooperation among nations today.
No-one wants us,theleast-developed countries, marginalized: notthedeveloped countries
whoareourpartners-in-development; norcertainly theG77, ofwhich weareapart. 0.4percent
oftheworld 'strade, andlessthan2percentofglobal FDIs, areunenviable statistical shares thatmust
beexpanded. None cangrudge this.
Theconstellation offorces is,therefore, mostfavourable. Thisisanopportunity thatwemust
seize upon.