Ladies and gentlemen,
It is with great regret that I could not be with you today at the
Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Kuwait. I
nevertheless wanted to share my thoughts with you on the importance of
international trade to the Arab region, and the importance of the Arab
region to the World Trade Organization.
Today 12 Arab countries are members of the WTO, with several of them
having been party to the WTO's predecessor accord — the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. These countries have played an important
role in building the multilateral trading system as we know it today,
and in shaping its goals.
Another six Arab countries are in the process of acceding to the WTO,
and include Algeria, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. They are all
in the process of negotiating their terms of entry; with some of these
accession negotiations being at very different stages. The most recent
Arab member of the WTO, Saudi Arabia, no doubt has a role to play in
assisting other Arab economies in joining the WTO; a process which can
only begin with a thorough understanding of the WTO rule-book.
The importance of international trade to the Arab region cannot be
overestimated. The Arab economy that is most dependent on imports is the
United Arab Emirates, whose imports of goods and services constitute 86
per cent of its GDP. It is followed by countries such as Jordan,
Mauritania and Bahrain, whose import to GDP ratio is in the 70 per cent
range. I would be remiss if I were not to mention that these imports
have been vital to the region's food security.
The Arab world's export to GDP ratio also
testifies to the deep international economic integration of the Arab
region. Once again, the Arab economy that is most economically dependent
on exports is the United Arab Emirates, whose exports of goods and
services constitute 99 per cent of GDP. It is followed by Bahrain,
Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, whose export to GDP ratio is in the 65-90 per
cent range.
These numbers speak for themselves and do not require much
interpretation. The Arab region needs the outside world just as much as
the outside world needs the Arab region. The numbers are equally stark
for several of the six Arab economies that are in the process of
acceding to the WTO. In Algeria and Libya, for instance, the export to
GDP ratio is in the 50 per cent range, and import to GDP ratio around 30
per cent. There is no doubt, therefore, that these economies would
benefit from orderly international trade, through the rules of the WTO.
Economic reform is under way in many quarters of the Arab world, and so
is deeper intra-Arab economic integration, with several Arab economies
gradually moving up in the scale of the world's most competitive
economies. Some have even been considered among the top reformers; such
as Egypt, with its recent efforts to reduce the cost of doing business
in Egypt and in slashing red tape. All these efforts are to be
congratulated and must continue to be pursued.
My message to you today is this: because international trade is so vital
to your economies, the WTO must also be vital to you. A strong,
coordinated and active Arab group in the WTO would no doubt help advance
some of your economic priorities. The WTO Doha Round of trade
negotiations, launched in 2001 in the capital city of Qatar, is still
under way. It includes many areas of economic importance to the Arab
region, such as energy services, transportation and distribution
services, and negotiations on trade facilitation to do with the
reduction of customs red tape, to mention but a few. I would ask that
the Arab region prioritize these negotiations, and prioritize the
formation of a strong Arab coalition on trade to vigorously pursue its
interests through the multilateral platform that is the WTO.
Today as the economic crisis bites into our economies, and as
protectionist pressures knock on our doors, we must recall the
importance of the insurance policy against protectionism that the WTO
offers through 60 years of global rule-making, and its dispute
settlement system. Now is the time to strengthen the rules of
international trade by concluding the Doha Development Round of
negotiations.
I look forward to your cooperation in this endeavour, and hope to have
the opportunity to visit your region in the coming period.
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