WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/112/Rev.1
13December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5348)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Statement bytheHonourable Kilroy Genia, M.P.
Minister forForeign Affairs andTrade
Revision
Letmefromtheoutset extend onbehalf ofmyGovernment andmydelegation, ourfelicitations
tothepeople andGovernment ofSingapore forplaying hosttothishistoric inaugural WTO Ministerial
Conference inthisbeautiful city.
IalsocongratulatetheGovernmentofSingaporefortheexcellentorganizationofthisConference.
Overtwoyears ago,theUruguay Multilateral Trade Negotiations wereconcluded inMarrakesh
when WTO Members tookaboldsteptowards concerted tradeliberalization onaglobal scaleatabout
thesametime, theAPEC economic leaders ofAPEC cameupwiththeBogor Declaration ofliberalizing
tradeby2010and2020intheAsiaPacific Region. Papua NewGuinea isencouraged bytheseinitiatives
which willcontribute toandincrease thewell-being ofallourpeoples.
Moves haveandarebeing made towards liberalization bymeans ofregional, subregional and
bilateral agreements.
MyGovernment acknowledges WTO asavitalanddynamic Organization thatupholds many
noble goals.
Itwillrequire commitment andcollective effort torealize these goals.
PapuaNewGuineahasaspecificactionplanontradeandinvestmentliberalizationandfacilitation
consistent withthegoals ofWTO.
Wehavereduced ourtariff bands toacceptable levels onnecessity goods, selective industry
input andcapital equipment. Wearealsomaking progress tofurther reduce those tariff measures.
PapuaNewGuineaiscommittedtothefreeing-upoftheglobaltradingsystemandtheelimination
ofimpediments totrade. Thiswillensure sustainable economic growth forbothdeveloped and
developing countries.
Trade liberalization efforts have drawn many ofthesmall developing andleastdeveloped
countries topooltheirresources together tointegrate theireconomies inpursuit ofWTO objectives
andgoals.
YoumayalreadybeawarethattheSouthPacificForumcountries,includingPapuaNewGuinea,
havealready taken acollective approach toaddress thedevelopment needs andmanagement challenges
inourfisheries andmarine sectors.WT/MIN(96)/ST/112/Rev.1
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Atsubregionallevel,thefree-tradeareaarrangementamongMelanesiancountrieshaveregistered
progressive growth asthecommodities listisexpanded. Growth perpetuated byfree-trade zonewhich
translates toimprovement inthestandard ofliving forthemasspopulation isconsistent withtheWTO
principles.
Justafewweeks ago,myPrime Minister proposed totheleaders ofAPEC, theestablishment
ofanAPEC centre inPapua New Guinea asaconduit forsmall Pacific Island economies tobe
meaningfully involved inthetrade liberalization process.
Wearegrateful totheAPEC leaders whointheirwisdom gavesupport andendorsement to
mycountry 'sinitiative. With UNDP 'scommitment toprovide financial andtechnical support -we
intend toestablish thisfacility nextyear.
These aresome oftheefforts thatPapua NewGuinea andthecountries inourregion have
beenengaged inontrade liberalization, trade facilitation andregional economic integration.
Papua NewGuinea 'smembership toWTO hasnotbeenasmooth sailing one.
Likemanydevelopingcountrieswhoareconstrainedbylackofadequatefinancialandmanpower
resources, coupled withinadequate institutional framework, Papua NewGuinea 'scompliance relating
toitsnotification obligations havebeenslow.
Papua NewGuinea would liketoemphasize theneedforWTO assistance, especially forthose
developing countries withtechnical, financial andinstitutional difficulties. Suchassistance should be
intheformofproviding training opportunities totheirnationals tofullyunderstand WTO 'soperations
sothattheycanparticipate effectively andrespond appropriately tofulfil their obligations and
commitments.
Iamindeed delighted tonotethatWTO isorganizing ameeting forWTO Members withaid
agencies andmultilateral financial institutions nextyeartofoster andintegrated approach toassist least
developed countries tomeettheirobligations under theWTO Agreements.
Theproblem offailing tomeetobligations isnotexclusive toleastdeveloped countries and
theextension ofsucharrangement toinclude developing island countries should beconsidered.
Ihavenoted thatWTO hasconcluded acooperation agreement withWorld Bank andtheIMF
forgreater coherence inglobal policy-making, andhopethattheconcerns ofdeveloping countries will
nowbeaddressed withmore sensitivity.
Ithasbeennoted thatWTO wants topromote cooperation anddevelopment though technical
assistance. Papua NewGuinea welcomes thisinitiative, butwould likethetechnical assistance tobe
tailored toimprove competitiveness ofindustries andproducts indeveloping countries rather thanjust
addressing notification problems faced bydeveloping countries.
Turningtotheissueoftradeandenvironment,IwishtoaffirmPapuaNewGuinea'scommitment
made attheRioSummit inAugust 1992andtheBerlin Climatic Change Summit in1995onsustainable
development andprotection oftheenvironment.
Whilst committed tothose undertakings, Papua NewGuinea israther concerned thattradehas
beensubjected toenvironment issues.WT/MIN(96)/ST/112/Rev.1
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Asadeveloping country whose economy depends heavily onnatural resources -forest, fisheries,
mining, plantation crops andthefactthatthemajority ofitsruralpopulation 'slivelihood depends on
subsistence farming, fishing andhunting, wearewaryofthepotential adverse effects oftheenvironment
debate.
Mindful ofitsrelevance, Papua NewGuinea hasstrong reservations forsuggestions toconclude
amultilateral investment agreement under theWTO.
Asadeveloping country, many ofourindustries arestilldeveloping andwilltakesome time
tomature, while theworkforce istrying toacquire skills thatindustrial nations havedeveloped many
years ago.
Suchanagreement, ifendorsed willnotonlybecounter-productive toournational development
efforts, butwillpushusfurther backtothevicious spiral ofaiddependency which Papua NewGuinea
istrying tobreak outof.
Onthequestion oflabour standards, Papua NewGuinea shares withthose countries whohave
stated thatWTO isnottheappropriate forum todiscuss thisissue. Wewould rather leave thisto
individual countries andtheirMinisters responsible forlabour tobedealtwithin theILO.
Onthematter oftransparency andcodeofconduct forgovernment procurement, Papua New
Guinea likemany Member countries hasitsownbusiness culture which itwants topreserve.
Wehaveourownlegislation under thenational constitution todiscipline theleaders. Itisrather
superfluous forrichcountries toimpose moral codes ofbehaviour todeveloping countries.
Inthisregard, Papua NewGuinea would rather liketoseethisissuebebetter lefttoindividual
countries toaddress rather thanoverburden thework ofthisaugust Conference.
With these global changes, wehaveanewworld. Itislarger andhighly internationalized,
promising much while posing many challenges ahead ofus.
TheWTO must beseenastheprime vehicle tospearhead andfacilitate moves towards
liberalizing trade andinvestment, theprime objective being thedevelopment ofafreer trading
environment globally.
Papua NewGuinea iscommitted toWTO andwillcooperate initsendeavour tosecuring the
noble goals andaspirations inthisglobal family.
Webelieve thatthecredibility oftheWTO willbestrengthened iftheuniversal character of
itispreserved.
Inthisrespect, weurgethataccession procedures forthecountries whohaveapplied for
membership including thosefromtheSouth Pacific region befast-tracked andgiven immediate attention.
Finally,permitmetoexpressourmostsinceregratitudeforthewarmwelcomeandthehospitality
accorded tousbythepeople andGovernment ofSingapore.
Letmealsothank theDirector-General, Mr.Renato Ruggiero andhishard-working WTO
stafffortheassistance given toPapua NewGuinea inourefforts tojoinWTO andallthetechnical
assistance given leading uptothismeeting.