. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(03)/ST/95
12 September 2003
(03-4866)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth Session
Cancún, 10 - 14 September 2003Original:  French
ANGOLA
Statement by H.E. Mr Vitorino Domingos Hossi
Minister of Commerce
On behalf of the Angolan Government and delegation I wish to express my sincere and
profound gratitude to the Government and people of Mexico for the hospitality they have extended to
us since our arrival and the excellent conditions created for organizing the work of thisFifth Ministerial Conference.
I particularly welcome the fact that, at this Conference, I am addressing Ministers and senior
officials of the Members of the World Trade Organization, meeting here in this beautiful and historic
town of Cancún to discuss and find the best solutions to the many economic and trade issues on thework programme and, more particularly, to mark out the course to be followed in bringing the trade
negotiations launched in Doha to a successful conclusion.
Since the historic Doha Round was launched, we have been somewhat dismayed to find that
the mandate given by the Member States at the Fourth Conference, as reflected in the
Doha Declaration, has not been fulfilled, essentially in certain areas of paramount importance to the
trade of developing countries in general and the least-developed countries in particular, therebycalling into question the very name "Developmen t Round" and, more serious still, the WTO's
credibility as a multilateral forum capable of finding satisfactory solutions to the serious problems of
the most vulnerable Members.
The joint commitment at Doha to place the intere sts and needs of developing countries at the
heart of the work programme must not only be reaffirmed in Cancún but must also rapidly take
concrete shape by achieving constructive progress and acting on the commitments made.
In this connection, we think it appropriate to reaffirm here the validity and relevance of the
declarations in Dhaka (Second LDC Trade Ministers Meeting, Bangladesh),  Mauritius (FirstOrdinary Session of Ministers of Trade of the African Union) and the conclusions of the Sixth
Meeting of ACP Ministers of Trade held in Brussels, which reflect the dismay and the aspirations of
the LDCs, the African countries and the ACP count ries regarding the present trade negotiations.
Despite the prevailing disappointment, we cannot fail to welcome the recent approval by the
General Council of the Decision on the implementation of paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the
TRIPS Agreement and public health.
It is an important decision, long-awaited by the African countries in general and in particular
by the countries confronted with serious public health problems, especially AIDS, tuberculosis,
malaria and other epidemics.WT/MIN(03)/ST/95
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Our peoples will appreciate the endeavours of WTO Member States (particularly the
developed and producer countries) to arrive at the requisite consensus and a happy outcome to this
Agreement.
The positive signal by the WTO to the international community must serve as the basis for
resolving other pending trade issues that form part of the Doha Agenda.
The Republic of Angola, which is now living in peace, considers that trade liberalization can
make a positive impact on economic growth and re cognizes the importance of integrating trade
policies in national poverty-eradication strategies, thereby contributing to sustainable development.
We are nonetheless fully aware that opening markets does not in itself constitute the solution
to the countless socio-political, economic and financial problems that still confront Africa, especially
as the efforts by the African countries to foster economic and social progress are greatly hindered by
internal factors, and above all by external factors over which they can take no decisive action.  These
factors include:
− Fluctuating commodity prices and deteriorating terms of trade;
− dependence on one or two export products;
− low levels of foreign direct investment, including technology transfer;
− lower official development assistance (ODA);
− the burden of the external debts;  and
− market access and other difficulties.
This trend must be promptly reversed so that developing countries can play an effective role
and be harmoniously integrated in global trade.
In this context, we call on all nations, particularly the developed nations, to provide our
countries with more effective and concrete support in pursuing more just and equitable solutions and
fully achieving the profound aspirations of the developing countries, which are often marginalized by
the international trading system.
A balanced conclusion to the Doha Round will undoubtedly make a valuable contribution to
solving some of these difficulties.
Hence, we urge all WTO Member States to s how sound judgement and engage in constructive
commitments and undertakings so that the Doha negotiations will make an effective contribution to
development.
While we consider that the process adopted for presenting the Draft Ministerial Text is not the
most adequate and that the text does not faithfully reflect the Doha Development mandate, my
country will make a constructive commitment and positive contribution to a successful outcome to
this Conference.
Lastly, I should like to congratulate Cambodia and Nepal on their accession to the WTO.
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