This is a very
important meeting. If the completion of the Uruguay Round in Marrakesh closed an important
chapter of economic history, this first Ministerial Conference in Singapore opens a new
one. This is not a new chapter just because our organization has a new name or new sectors
of responsibility or a new dispute settlement procedure. It is a new chapter in the sense
that we have brought together 127 countries in a single undertaking and under a set of
fundamental rules shared by all. It is a new chapter in the sense that our world of
deepening integration and interdependence is demanding a new unity of vision.
The
unity of industrialized, developing, least-developed and transition economies is the most
valuable asset of this organization. It is because of this unity that membership in this
organization is proving so attractive to the 28 candidates for accession, who include some
of the world's largest economies as well as some of the smallest.
This
unity is still a fragile one, however. We have to do all we can not just to maintain it
but to strengthen it. This first Ministerial meeting has to send a very clear message to
that effect. It can do so first of all by reaching agreement on the few issues which are
still outstanding in terms of the Ministerial Declaration. Though they are few in number,
their political sensitivity is undeniable. However, during the preparatory process we have
been able to narrow the distances on each one of them to an extent that should greatly
facilitate the task of Ministers in reaching overall agreement. Consensus is the rule of
this organization; but consensus means first of all a shared responsibility. I know that
every Minister here will participate in this effort for the good of the system and all of
its Members.
We
meet at a time which is one of transition in the trading system, from many points of view.
Firstly,
because the process of global economic integration is moving on rapidly, and has indeed
gone past the point of no return. We can see the meaning of globalization everywhere in
our daily lives. Our task in the WTO is to accompany this process with rules and
disciplines which are internationally agreed and accepted and able to be applied. This is
the unique contribution that this organization can make to global prosperity and
cooperation, and it is an important part of the reason why large and small nations,
developed and developing alike, see it as so important.
Secondly,
our system is changing because the world economy is changing. Information, know-how, ideas
-- these are the new forces that are driving the global economy forward. This new economy
will be different from the old because knowledge is both a resource and a product -- the
new capital of economic growth, but capital which can be made accessible to all. In the
economy of the twenty-first century, knowledge, like water, will be an essential resource.
Our challenge is to extend and widen the global aquaducts -- to help to irrigate parched
soil. For example, by liberalizing telecommunications we can help put a telephone in every
village - something that can make the difference between life and death. By liberalizing
information technologies we can educate our people on a scale unimaginable ten or twenty
years ago, empowering them to compete in the global economy. This is the human dimension
of globalization. This is why liberalization is the wellspring of progress for all the
world's peoples.
And
thirdly, because the way we operate within the multilateral trading system is itself in
transition. Our negotiations can no longer be based only on traditional sectors or
traditional assumptions.
Our
success in the days ahead will not only be measured by our ability to see the future, but
by our willingness to lead the way. This must be leadership by all countries, every
government, each of us in this room. For some countries their ability to take a leading
role in the trading system has been limited by resource constraints. We must work much
harder in the future to give these countries a stronger voice.
This
must also be leadership firmly rooted in public support. Gone too are the days when trade
agreements were the affairs of negotiators or governments alone.
A
world trading system which has the support of a knowledgeable and engaged global community
will be in a far stronger position to manage the forces of globalization for everyone's
benefit. This is why the presence here of so many representatives of non-governmental
organizations, the business sector, and the media is so important. This Conference will, I
am sure, send a clear message to them and to the world beyond. It should be a firm message
about our determination to fight the marginalization of people and regions, and about the
power of trade to promote the growth which allows governments to address problems of
distribution. It should be a positive message about the relationship between trade and
environmental policies. And it should be a reaffirmation that, since a basic purpose of
our efforts is to raise living standards worldwide, trade liberalization helps create a
more favourable climate for the observance of core labour standards.
Leadership
in an interdependent world is more than ever the art of cooperation. It is about
recognizing that our national interests are increasingly global interests and that our
economic security increasingly hinges on the strength of others. If the multilateral
trading system is to rise to the challenges of this rapidly changing reality, we will all
have to give up old habits of thought and patterns of behaviour and develop together some
new approaches to negotiating mutually beneficial rules and commitments in sectors where
products can cross frontiers in a fraction of a second. If we always seat ourselves on
opposite sides of the negotiating table, then consensus can become a codeword for
gridlock.
Our
agenda, at this conference and beyond, is a very complex one. We have to arrive at an
equilibrium which respects the common desire to emphasize the implementation of what has
already been agreed. Implementing the 27,000 pages of agreements undertaken by all the
Members of this organization in the few years ahead is a major endeavour, and one that we
have only just begun. It would be wrong to imagine that implementation does not also mean
keeping up the liberalizing momentum. I want to pay tribute to the efforts of all Members
in this respect, but particularly to the very great efforts that are being made by
developing and transition economies and the enormous efforts of the least-developed
countries.
The
report of the General Council which Ambassador Rossier has just presented to you is solid
evidence of the scale of what has been achieved in the past two years -- as well as the
challenges we still face -- in the implementation process. Its importance is underlined in
the WTO Annual Report which I am presenting to you. The Annual Report notes the evolution
of trade policies of developed, developing and transition-economy Members in the direction
of liberal trade regimes, greater resort to tariff-based measures and transparency. These
policies represent the surest means to expand the participation of all countries in
today's increasingly dynamic international trade. In turn, the Annual Report also shows
how trade continues to be a powerful engine of growth: global trade again grew last year
by one of the fastest rates in a decade and now exceeds US$6 trillion for the first time,
with the stimulus this represents for job creation worldwide.
The
continuation of this virtuous circle is in your hands as you guide the WTO's work
programme - which has already in large part been agreed. And beyond this, you have the
challenge of agreeing on liberalization in information technology products and of giving
the momentum to the negotiations on basic telecommunications that will help ensure their
successful conclusion by the 15 February deadline. In the light of what I said a
moment ago, the importance of these agreements cannot be overestimated. These are sectors
where we are truly trading into the future.
Other
major priorities for 1997 are to conclude the equally vital negotiations in financial
services, and to combine our strong commitment with that of the candidates to conclude --
or make real progress towards concluding -- some of the major accession negotiations. I
also sincerely urge all member governments to find a rapid and positive solution to one
outstanding implementation issue of great importance - the formal establishment of the WTO
Secretariat as a separate entity, in line with the decisions taken at Marrakesh.
Lastly,
I would hope to see from all the Ministers present at this meeting, as a signal of your
intention to hold a high-profile celebration of the 50th anniversary of the multilateral
trading system, which falls at the beginning of 1998. It would be a unique occasion not
just to celebrate one of the major international success stories of our time but also to
look ahead into the fast-moving prospects of the new century. |
