WORLD TRADE WT/GC(95)/ST/18
30January 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0302)
Original: English Council Division
13and15December 1995
TANZANIA
Statement byH.E. Mr.AliS.Mchumo
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
Since thisisthefirsttimeIamtaking thefloor before thisaugust body, letmetakethis
opportunity tocongratulate andcommend youforyourability andwisdom inconducting thebusiness
ofthisCouncil tothesatisfaction ofallofusthroughout thisfirstyearintheexistence oftheWTO.
MayIalsousethisopportunity onceagain tocongratulate theDirector-General, Mr.Ruggerio, for
hisappointment toheadthisOrganization andfortheefficient manner hehasdischarged hisveryheavy
responsibilities withdistinction inthistrying firstyearoftheWTO. Bythesame token wewishto
thank theentire Secretariat forthewaytheyhaveserved us,theMember states, inthisinitial period.
From whatwehavehadfromtheDirector-General andtheSecretariat inthisfirstyear, wehavethe
righttoexpect similar efficient service intheperiod ahead ofus.Nowthatwehavealready elected
anewbureau, letmeusethisopportunity tocongratulate ournewChairman, Ambassador Rossier
andhisteamandexpress thehopethattheywillbeworthy custodians oftheachievements youhave
brought toourOrganization.
ThisGeneral Council istaking place atanimportant moment inthehistory ofmultilateral trade
relations, since onlythree daysagowewound upandlaidtoresttheGATT andwearenowonlya
fewdaysaway tocommemorating thefirstyearoftheexistence oftheWTO. When winding upthe
GATT onTuesday, youMr.Chairman gaveamoving andfitting resumé oftheachievements in
multilateral trade made under GATT overtheyears, andIdonotwishtowater down yourverywell
considered summary ofthesuccess, andmydelegation fullyendorses yoursentiments. Indeed, now
isthetimetothink ofthefuture andhowthenewOrganization wehavecreated canbeofbenefit to
allofusasweapproach anewmillennium. Many analyses andstudies doindicate anoverall positive
assessment onworld tradeandglobal production mainly asaresult oftheeconomic processes unleashed
bytheconclusion oftheUruguay Round. While thisisundisputable, itisimportant fortheinternational
community nottobaskinunguarded complacency andforget thatparallel tothishappy development
intheoverall world tradeandproduction, thereistheunhappy reality thatasizeable portion ofhumanity
donotbenefit immediately ortothesame extent astheirmore fortunate bothers andsisters. Iam
ofcourse referring tothedeveloping countries andespecially theleast-developed countries andespecially
again totheAfrican LDCs ofwhich mycountry isone.Indeed, itwasbecause ofthespecific problems
afflicting thesecountries, thatitwasfound necessary inMarrakesh toinclude theMinisterial Decisions
onmeasures infavour ofLDCs inorder tomitigate thepossible negative effects oftheUruguay Round
Agreements onLDCs andnetfoodimporting developing countries. Itistherefore imperative forthe
entire international community totakemeasures tobring these countries intothemainstream ofglobal
economic processes andwearehappy tonotethattheDirector-General hasgiven ample attention to
thismatter ishisreport. Itmaybeargued thatwithonly0.03percentshare inworld trade these
countries donotmatter sincetheydonotcommand asizeable "trade weight", butletitnotbeforgotten
thatthese countries buymore than70percentoftheirimports fromdeveloped countries andbecause
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rational international trade isexpected tobeatwo-way traffic, itisimperative thatthese countries be
enabled toparticipate asequal partners inglobal trade andproduction. Itisinthiscontext thatmy
delegation urges thatbesides thetimerelated concessions foralonger transition period, theinternational
donor community, including multilateral financial institutions andagencies, should provide additional
resources, preferably ongrant terms, toassist LDCs toovercome development bottlenecks insuch
areas asboosting production andproductivity ofthevarious commodities needed intheworld market,
includinghorizontalandverticaldiversificationoftheirproductionandexportstructure.Thesemeasures
should beaccompanied byproviding unconditional market access fortheLDCs 'products untiltheir
economies pickupsufficiently tocompete onanequitable basiswiththeproducts fromtheindustrialized
countries. Webelieve thatwithout afirmcommitment onincreasing assistance insuchanallround
fashion totheLDCs, itwillbedifficult, ifnotimpossible, forthese countries tobenefit from the
globalization andliberalization processes, asenvisaged intheUruguay Round Agreements.
Atthisjuncture, letmeplace onrecord mycountry 'sappreciation fortheefforts that
Mr.Renato Ruggiero, theWTO Director-General, hasbeenmaking tomobilize resources from the
donor community, forthepurpose ofincreasing technical assistance totheLDCs. Inthisregard may
Itakethisopportunity tothank onceagain theGovernment ofNorway foritsinitiative incontributing
US$2.5million toatechnical assistance fundinorder toassist poorer andleast-developed countries
particularly inAfrica, participate intheactivities ofWTO andtakefulladvantage ofnewopportunities
offered bythenewMultilateral Trade Arrangement. Mydelegation hopes thatother members ofthe
donor community willjoinNorway inthislaudable endeavour andcontribute tothisTrust Fund which
willundoubtedly playavitalcatalytic role. Whereas inthisfirstyearofitsexistence, WTO 'sassistance
hasbeenmore ofthenature ofassisting LDCs inthepreparation oftheirUruguay Round commitments
andinseminars andcourses forbetter understanding oftheAgreements andtheirimplications, we
believe thatinthecoming years andwithsuchadditional resources which wehopewillbeforthcoming,
theWTOwillbeenabledtooffersuchtechnicalassistancethatwilladdressthefundamentalshortcomings
oftheLDCs 'economies andsousher them intoafuller participation inanequitable global trade.
Inthisregard, mydelegation hopes thattheWTO infuture willbemore proactive inassisting LDCs
andshould notbeunduly guided bythe"demand-driven" approach inoffering technical assistance
toLDCs, butthattheWTO should gooutofitswaytopulltheLDCs intotheglobal economic highway
inopening opportunities which theLDCs themselves maynotbeaware of.
Toconclude, mydelegation wishes torestate mycountry 'scommitment tothenewmultilateral
trading arrangements which wehavesigned intobecause webelieve wecanbenefit fromthem. Indeed
thatiswhymany LDCs aremaking thenecessary sacrifices, financial andotherwise, tofulfil their
obligations asmembers ofWTO. Letother members ofthisinternational trading community therefore
notdisappoint ourpeople intheirhopes andaspirations foranequal andequitable partnership inthe
global market.
Finally, mydelegation believes thatitisimperative fortheWTO asanorganization tobeseen
tobelong toallofusandthatinthecoming years, itwillcontinue initsendeavours toreflect itsglobality
intheleadership ofitsbodies aswellasinthevarious levels within theSecretariat itself.