  
  
WT/MIN(22)/ST/119  
12 June 2022 
(22-4559) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12 -15 June 2022  Original: English  
 
 
STATEMENT BY HON. MR JEREMIAH MANELE, MP  
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND EXTERNAL TRADE  
SOLOMON ISLANDS  
Solomon Islands aligns itself with the statements presented by Fiji on behalf of the Pacific Group, 
and Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group.  
 
I thank you for convening this meeting of WTO Ministers to assess the progress on work conducted 
here in Geneva. This is the first Ministerial Conference in five years and it is crucial for this 
Conference to take stock of any progress made and to provide a clear road map for the WTO 
post-MC12.  
 
This is particularly significant given the challenging environment faced by the multilateral trading 
system due to global developments such as climate change and the adverse impact of the COVID -19 
pandemic o n our economies, trade, food security and livelihoods . 
 
This Conference offers the opportunity for Ministers to engage constructively to ensure that MC12 is 
not another lost opportunity for the multilateral trading system.  
 
From Solomon Islands perspective s, some progress has been made but we need to do more in the 
coming three days of the Conference to achieve an outcome that we can live with.  
 
Our objective in this Ministerial Conference (MC12) must be to ensure the multilateral trading system 
remains rel evant and that it is capable of responding to the global challenges we face and at the 
same time it provides a conducive environment for LDCs and SIDS.  
 
On the  Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, significant ground has been covered, important divergences 
have been bridged, and some tough decisions must be made if we are to have an outcome on this 
important pillar. We cannot have an outcome without the policy space to allow for responsible growth 
in our fisheries sector and we must ensure our fishing arrangements and differential licensing 
arrangements are preserved. Solomon Islands subscribes to the position that fisheries subsidies 
disciplines should target large, ind ustrialized vessels from the Distant Water Fishing Nations and not 
the small coastal states. This agreement must be balanced in all respects. Solomon Islands places 
great emphasis on special and differential treatment, including exemption from stringent an d 
onerous transparency and notification requirements.  
 
Like other Pacific Island States, Solomon Islands fisheries industry is not just one aspect of our 
economic activities. The fisheries industry is our way of life; it 's part of our culture both in term s of 
maintaining our peoples ' livelihood and food security, but also keeping community social cohesion.  
 
On the approach to WTO Reform, we believe it should be framed in a balanced manner to 
accommodate the interests of all Members. WTO Reforms, through a process managed by the 
General Council, should be open, transparent, inclusive, development -oriented, engenders policy 
space for economic growth and development,  premised on decision by consensus.  
 
On Agriculture, it is important to bear in mind the vulne rability of our people who depend on 
agriculture. There should be no room for error in the decisions we make at this Ministerial 
Conference. For Solomon Islands, Food Security is an important pillar and we can support the draft 
declaration on World Food Pr ogramme with the understanding that all Members views are taken on WT/MIN( 22)/ST/ 119 
 
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  board in a Member driver manner. The issue of food insecurity is posing a great challenge and 
requires urgent and targeted attention. We are, therefore, encouraged by the draft declaration on 
trade and food security.  
 
We believe that it is also possible to adopt an SPS Declaration on the basis of document 
WT/MIN(22)/W/3. Solomon Islands is largely impacted by non -tariff barriers that could be averted 
through streamlined, collaborative work a mong Members. The declaration proposes an avenue for 
greater collaboration in support of developing countries and least developed countries to improve 
their integration into the multilateral trading system. Technical assistance and capacity building are 
essential. So, too, is the WTO 's collaboration with other international organisations that can offer 
support.  
 
A conclusion on WTO Response to COVID -19 Pandemic is long overdue. It is important that our work 
here is effective in dealing with the issue of ine quity in the availability and  access to vaccines and 
its related products. We call for an improvement in the dimension of work that seeks to address 
challenges resulting in supply chain bottlenecks.  
 
WTO has an important role to play in complementing the work of international organisations and 
others in respect of responding to the impact of the pandemic from a health, stabilisation, recovery 
and sustainable rebuilding perspective. An agreement on a waiver that accommodates the interests 
and addresses the concerns of all WTO Members is an important component of global efforts to 
address the pressing issues of inadequate and lack of access to vaccines and other items for the 
prevention, containment and treatment of COVID -19, particularly in least developed c ountries.  
 
On E -commerce, Solomon Islands supports the reinvigoration of the 1998 Ecommerce Work 
Programme, with emphasis on the development dimension. Solomon Islands is also of the view that 
the Ecommerce moratorium is temporarily extended to MC13 allow ing for conducting of necessary 
assesments on the revenue impacts to Government.   
 
Vulnerabilities of LDCs has been further exposed and exacerbated by the Covid -19 pandemic. Our 
systems are fragile and it only takes a global crisis of any magnitude to infl ict irreparable damage 
to our economies, lives and livelihood.  
 
Solomon Islands is already grappling to be fully integrated into the global trade system and the 
pandemic is unravelling all the strides that have been made over decades of work. We commend 
the approach which is being taken to further the interests of LDCs and graduated LDCs within the 
WTO and in the global trading system, especially in light of the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic 
which will have a lasting impact on these Members. The vulnerab ility of Solomon Islands as an LDC 
to external shocks is real and should always be taken into account by the WTO.  
 
LDC graduation is never automatically accompanied by favourable conditions. Hence, it should not 
be expected that Solomon Islands would be a t a point where we can relinquish LDC flexibilities 
immediately after graduation. A transition period is of utmost importance to graduating LDCs and 
we believe an adequate transitional period will allow a country such as ours to face the significant 
trade and development challenges post -graduation. We look forward to further productive 
engagement on the matter in order to support LDCs, including graduating LDCs, in their 
developmental aspirations and their efforts to integrate into the multilateral trading system.  
 
In closing,  Solomon Islands reaffirms its commitment to engage constructively over the coming days 
of MC12 in order to contribute to a successful outcome of the Conference.  
 
__________  