RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(03)/SR/9
23 December 2003
(03-6749)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth Session
Cancún, 10 - 14 September 2003
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE NINTH MEETING
Held at the Cancún Convention Centre, Cancún, Mexico
on Sunday, 14 September 2003, at 5.30 p.m.
Chairperson: H.E. Mr. Luis Ernesto Derbez (Mexico)
Subjects: 1. Action by Ministers (Agenda Item 3)
2. Date and Venue of the Sixth Session of the Ministerial Conference (Agenda 
Item 4)
3. Election of Officers (Agenda Item 5)
4. Closure of the Session
The Chairman, prior to taking up the Agenda Items for discussion, said he wished to offer his
sincere thanks to the Director-General, all of the Ministers who had assisted him so ably as
Facilitators and as Vice-Chairpersons of the Ministerial Conference, the Chairman of the General
Council, the Deputy Directors-General, the Secretariat, and each of the Ministers and delegations
representing their respective Governments at the Conference for their hard work and patience over the
past five days.  He also wished to say, on behalf  of the Government of Mexico, that it had been an
honour and a pleasure to have hosted the Fifth Session.
1. Action by Ministers  (Agenda item 3)
(a) Draft Ministerial Statement (WT/MIN(03)/W/24)
(b) Reports of the General Council and other WTO bodies
(a) Draft Ministerial Statement (WT/MIN(03)/W/24)
The Chairman said that the past five days had seen a tremendous amount of committed work
by all delegations.  Throughout this process, he had done his utmost to ensure the fullest transparency
and inclusiveness, and he was grateful for the spirit of cooperation and goodwill shown by all
participants.
He then proposed that the Ministerial Conference adopt the Draft Ministerial Statement in
document WT/MIN(03)/W/24.
The Ministerial Conference took note of the Chairman's statement and adopted  the Draft
Ministerial Statement in WT/MIN(03)/W/24.1
                                                     
1 The Ministerial Statement was subsequently circulated as WT/MIN(03)/20.WT/MIN(03)/SR/9
Page 2
(b) Reports of the General Council and other WTO bodies
The Ministerial Conference took note of the reports of the General Council and other WTO
bodies which had been forwarded to Ministers for consideration.
2. Date and venue of the Sixth Session of the Ministerial Conference  (Agenda Item 4)
The Chairman recalled that the Rules of Procedure for Sessions of the Ministerial Conference
(WT/L/161) required that the date of each regular session be established by the Ministerial
Conference at a previous Session.  He also recalled that, as regards the venue, the General Council at
its meeting in August had considered a communication from Hong Kong, China offering to host the
Sixth Session.  The General Council had agreed that its Chairman would hold consultations on the
question of the venue of the Sixth Session of the Ministerial Conference and report back to him at the
earliest opportunity, with a view to assisting him in pr eparing this item for consideration at the present
Conference.  The General Council Chairman had also invited any other Member Government wishing
to host the next regular session of the Ministerial Conference to so inform him, in order that he might
take this into account during his consultations.  He understood from the General Council Chairman
that although no other Government had informed him of its wish to host the next session of the
Ministerial Conference, he had been unable, given the pressures of time facing delegations in thepreparation for – and at – this Ministerial Conference, to consult on this matter beyond informal
contacts with a number of delegations.
In the light of the information provided to hi m by the Chairman of the General Council, he
proposed that the Ministerial Conference take note with appreciation of the offer from theGovernment of Hong Kong, China, and request the General Council Chairman to continue his
consultations with a view to determining the Date and Venue of the Sixth Session of the Ministerial
Conference.
The Ministerial Conference so agreed.  
3.  Election of Officers (Agenda Item 5)
The Chairman recalled that the Rules of Procedure for Sessions of the Ministerial Conference
(WT/L/161) provided for the Election of a Chairperson and three Vice-Chairpersons to hold office
from the end of the present Session until the end of the next regular Session.  However, as it had not
been possible to carry out the necessary consultations on this matter, he proposed that the Ministerial
Conference request the Chairman of the General Council to hold consultations with a view to
determining the presiding officers of the Ministerial Conference who would hold office until the end
of the Sixth Session.
The Ministerial Conference so agreed.
4. Closure of the Session
The Chairman thanked all for their efforts over the past five days in what had turned out to be
a very complicated meeting, and one in which Members had truly been called upon to work jointly to
resolve a whole series of problems.  This had been a meeting in which Members had all worked
together, had tried to make progress, and had, unfortunately, been unable to achieve the consensusthey had set out to achieve.  Consequently, all Me mbers should redouble their efforts, reassess their
positions, and try to find common ground on which they could rest the future development of the
Doha Round.  Throughout the five days of the Cancún Ministerial Conference, he had tried to proceed
in a transparent and inclusive manner, in a way that would serve as a lesson for the future and, in his
view, had succeeded.  He believed Members still had the chance to ensure that their Dohacommitments to strengthen the trading system and to integrate the developing countries was met.  InWT/MIN(03)/SR/9
Page 3
order to do so, Members must choose between the benefits of a successful Round and the impact of an
unsuccessful one.  This meant working together in th e future, bearing in mind at all times that, in view
of the need for consensus to obtain specific result s, Members should do their utmost to combine their
time, their efforts and their capacities in a constructive and pragmatic spirit.  In his view, the progress
achieved that week had enabled Members to come much closer to what would be a true DevelopmentRound, in which their concern for ensuring that progress was achieved in agriculture was shared by
each and every country.  This had been a unique experience, and he wished to stress that substantive
progress had been made.  He urged all to pursue their efforts, not to lose hope and, above all, to work
relentlessly to ensure that the well-being of their peoples took precedence over any personal interests.
The Director-General said he wished to pay tribute to the Chairman for the latter's outstanding
leadership over the past few days, and for having led Members with great efficiency and with a very
sure touch as to the feelings and views of the diverse range of the membership.  The Government of
Mexico had made truly impressive arrangements for the Conference.  Members had been working
throughout the Conference with the Chairman's excellent team, of whom both the Chairman and his
country could be very proud.  Cancún had given Members a generous welcome and all had enjoyed
Mexico's hospitality.  There had been many good things to emerge from this Conference.  Muchexcellent work had been done which would stand Members in good stead for the future.  The progress
made had to be kept as delegations moved back to Geneva.  All should now reflect on the results of
this Conference and return to the task before them  with renewed vigour and determination.  In his
view, if Members were to fail in the noble endeavour of the Doha Development Agenda, the losers
would be the poorer and the weaker Members – not only because they needed the stimulus of growth
which the DDA could provide, but because they had most to lose from a weakening of the multilateral
trading system.  More could perhaps have been achieved at Cancún, but he was not at all
downhearted.  Members had to accept the reality that their work programme was a very complex
undertaking.  They now had a new opportunity, based on the real progress they had made and on the
lessons they had learned, to produce a much better result in the end.  He accepted the challenge of thenew situation Members now faced, and fully dedicated  himself and his staff to working with Members
in order to bring their joint endeavour to a succes sful conclusion.  The WTO was a unique multilateral
institution of which all could be proud.  It had, in its own way, proven itself again over the past few
days as an organization which faithfully reflected the full range of views of its diverse membership.
This was a great strength which Members should nurture, while at the same time learning to work
more effectively together to produce timely results.
The Ministerial Conference took note of the statements.
The Session of the Ministerial Conference closed at 5.55 p.m.
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