WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/131
12December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5302)
Original: French MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
ALGERIA
Statement byH.E. Mr.Bakhti Belaib
Minister forTrade
(Speaking asanObserver)
Iwould firstly liketothank ourhostcountry, theRepublic ofSingapore, foritshospitality
andforaccommodating thisMinisterial Conference oftheWorld Trade Organization sowell.
Thesuccess ofthisMinisterial Conference, which hasgathered together within these walls
almost every country involved inworld trade, bears witness tothevitality ofthisyouthful Organization
which, though created onlytwoyears ago,isalready, asthecentury draws toaclose, intheforefront
oftheinstitutions forming partoftheinternational economic system.
Mycountry,Algeria,haslodgeditsapplicationformembershipoftheWorldTradeOrganization
andthisyear, 1996, officially submitted itsMemorandum onForeign Trade Regime. Itexpects to
submit itsreplies tothewritten questions sofarreceived within thenextfewweeks.
Ourhope is,ofcourse, thatthenegotiation process willberapidly concluded, because the
final acceptance ofourapplication formembership willbeahighpoint inAlgeria 'seconomic
liberalization programme ofthelastfewyears. Admission totheWTO willreinforce anumber of
basic principles which havealready beenimplemented intheAlgerian economy, suchasfreedom of
tradeandindustry, openness toforeign investment, progressive privatization oftheproduction ofgoods
andservices andthetotalabolition ofallnon-tariff barriers totrade.
Theimpetus which, particularly inthelastfewyears, hasproduced significant growth inthe
volume ofworld tradeisthesame asthatwhich ledtothesuccess oftheUruguay Round Negotiations,
sealed bytheFinal Actsigned inMarrakesh andthecreation oftheWorld Trade Organization.
Wemustaboveallmaintainthisimpetus,notablybyworkingtoenlargethenumberofdeveloping
countries benefiting fromthegrowth inworld trade. Onlyinthatwaywillpromotion ofinternational
trade beabletostimulate sustainable growth insupport ofeconomic development onatrulyworld
scale.
Aconsiderable number ofcountries, including Algeria, aretoday knocking atthedoorofthe
World Trade Organization.
Paradoxically, therapidandencouraging success oftheOrganization, itsindisputable attraction
andthegreat importance oftheissues itaddresses, nowseem tobecomplicating thetaskofnew
applicants formembership.
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Consequently, consideration should begiven tosimplifying theaccession procedures forall
applicants, mainly developing countries, sothattheirintegration intoworld trade doesnotinterfere
withtheirefforts tosolve theirdomestic economic problems.
Such ameasure, however marginal itmight appear, canonlystrengthen, inthefuture, the
credibility anduniversality oftheWTO.
Theholding ofthisMinisterial Conference ispowerful confirmation oftheleading rolewhich
hasfallen totheWorld Trade Organization ontheinternational scene. Maywehaveevery success
inourwork. Thank youforyourkindattention.