./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(99)/ST/65
1 December 1999
(99-5273)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Third SessionSeattle, 30 November - 3 December 1999Original:  English
MOZAMBIQUE
Statement by H. E. Mr. Oldemiro J.M. Baloi
Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism
Allow me, first of all, to congratulate you, on behalf of the Government and people of
Mozambique and indeed on my own behalf, upon your election to preside over our deliberations in
this Third WTO Ministerial Conference.  We stand ready to fully cooperate with you.
Let me join previous speakers in thanking the Government and people of the United States of
America for their warm hospitality.
My delegation associates itself with the statement delivered by the Honourable Minister of
Tanzania, on behalf of the Southern Africa Development Community  (SADC).
We live in a world characterized by more uncertainty and disquiet, as the globalization and
liberalization of the world economy takes root.  The challenges ahead of us lie, to a large extent, on
how to devise appropriate mechanisms to achieve a more balanced sharing of the benefits of
globalization.
My delegation concurs with the frustrations expressed by other speakers, particularly from
developing countries and the LDCs among them, at th e realization that most of our expectations after
the end of the Cold War have not materialized.  The spiral of impoverishment, marginalization and
exclusion of our countries appears to have gained new strengths.
It is my delegation's conviction that more trade is always better than less trade.  I, therefore,
believe that the WTO is the most appropriate forum to address all Members' trade concerns.  Itsworking methods lead to a system in which more trade is complemented by rules and disciplines that
are binding to the whole membership.  As the 21
st century dawns, we need a WTO that works towards
assuring not only the participation of developing countries and the LDCs among them, into the
multilateral trading system, but that they derive concrete and tangible benefits from it, thus narrowing
the gap between rich and poor.
Let me now touch on some specific issues of particular interest and concern to my delegation.
We attach particular importance towards achieving, among other outcomes, the following objectives:
• Improved market access for products originating in developing countries, through
further lowering of trade barriers in areas of particular interest to these countries, such
as agricultural products, textiles and clothing, among others.
• Extension of bound, duty-free and quota-free market access for all products
originating in the LDCs.  It is a well-know fact that these countries' share of the
international market is simply marginal (it declined from 0.8 per cent in 1980
to 0.5 per cent of world trade today, according to an UNCTAD report on LDCs).WT/MIN(99)/ST/65
Page 2
Duty-free and quota-free access for their products would represent a meaningful
political commitment to helping them address some of the most daunting challenges
of our time, such as the extreme poverty.
• Adoption and implementation of capacity building strategies and programmes aimed
at addressing the inextricable link between increased market access and improved
supply capacity.  The elimination of trade barriers needs to be complemented byappropriate measures to help the LDCs overcome their infrastructure and institutional
weaknesses, including investment in areas such as health care, education and other
social concerns.  We need a WTO that actively engages in a real partnership with the
United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions and other international organizations
in the search for and adoption of integrated and effective technical assistance
strategies, tailored to developing countries' needs, including appropriate funding
mechanisms.
• Adoption of a new global partnership that involves advancing sustainable
development strategies that put people at the centre stage of development, by theprovision of basic human development levels for all peoples.  A partnership that
involves a constructive dialogue between governments, the private sector, the NGOs,
the civil society at large, and ultimately, a partnership that entails a strong support to
developing countries and the LDCs in their efforts to integrate themselves into the
world economy, by focusing on the identification of targets and objectives such as
poverty eradication, improved access to markets, reduction in disparities between
countries, improved access to health, education and food security.  As an LDC,
Mozambique believes in the merits of a new round of trade negotiations that
encompasses a development dimension.
• Greater understanding of the need to embrace more creative solutions to debt relief.
While we appreciate the HIPC initiative, we would like to emphasize the importanceof improving its implementation mechanisms.  In this regard, I would also like to
praise the efforts currently being undertaken by the G-7 and the Bretton Woods
institutions, and urge developed countries to seize this momentum and embark on
efforts aimed at matching debt relief with improved market access initiatives.  This iscrucial for the effective mainstreaming of the LDCs into the multilateral trading
system.
• Concurrence of the entire WTO membership to the need to renew the waiver granted
to ACP-EU countries in order to allow the continuation of existing tradingarrangements until the end of the preparatory period and beyond, if necessary.  This
will help address specific trade concerns and needs of 71 developing countries,comprising 48 LDCs and 29 WTO Members.  It is my delegation's belief that the
reasons underlying the extension of this waiver still prevail and deserve positive
consideration by WTO Members.
Before I conclude, let me express my delegation's view, that among the various issues before
us, implementation issues should be given primacy over new ones.
Trade cannot be seen as an end in itself, nor can it be seen as the only answer to the
challenges facing today's world.  We need investment, infrastructure, education, training and skills to
take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization and liberalization.  We therefore, favour
an approach that includes embracing new and creative cooperation paradigms, in order to turn trade
relations into an important tool in our endeavours to provide better living standards to our peoples.
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