Mr President,
Excellencies heads of State and government,
Ladies and gentlemen,

A very well known saying goes: “Where there is a will, there is a way”.

This is what united world leaders ten years ago in their commitment to relegate abject poverty to history.

The purpose of your work, which begins this morning, is to take stock of what we have achieved, to make an uncompromising assessment of our progress as well as of the shortcomings that are still holding us back.

As we emerge from a global economic crisis that is without precedent in its depth and its globality, we should be asking ourselves: How has the World Trade Organization contributed to achieving the Millennium Goals?

In particular, how has it contributed to Goal 8 that is, developing a global partnership for development?

Goal 8 tells us that an “open, rules based, predictable and non discriminatory trading system” can be a powerful engine for economic growth and development. The World Trade Organisation's core business is to regulate international trade, reduce trade barriers and ensure a level playing field for all its Members, big or small, rich or poor. It falls exactly within the scope of this target. It is about ensuring an enabling international trading environment, a “pro-development” trading environment.

The benefits of opening up trade are well known and can be seen in the growth patterns of countries that have opened their borders to trade the more so where they have backed up their action with appropriate domestic measures in the fields of investment, education and social welfare.

To cite but two examples:

• Firstly, there is the fact that the regions where most progress has been made in eradicating poverty are those that trade most. There is a direct correlation between integration into the multilateral trading system and economic growth, between growth and poverty reduction

• Secondly, there is the fact that during the crisis, the multilateral trading system acted as a bulwark against the worst protectionist instincts. The monitoring system we put in place has so far helped to avert recourse to widespread trade restrictive measures which would first and foremost have penalized the poorest countries.

And it is because international trade remained open that it is now a leading force in the recovery. According to our most recent estimates, the volume of trade should grow by 13.5 per cent this year, 11 per cent for the developed countries and 17 per cent for the developing countries. The WTO disciplines have given the poorest countries the means to climb more quickly out of the recession.

But positive as the multilateral trading system's contribution to poverty reduction may have been, we can and must do better.

In the regulation area, first of all, by working towards a rapid conclusion of the Doha Development Round.

Concluding the Doha Round is about generating new growth opportunities. But it is also about reinforcing a global partnership to put trade opening at the service of development. It is about building on 60 years of multilateralism to foster peace.

And as we prepare for the 4th United Nations Conference on Least Developed countries which Turkey will host next year, we should remember that concluding the Doha Round is also about delivering for the world's poorest. We must fulfil our promises, for example by providing them with duty free and quota free market access, or by addressing agriculture subsidies to cotton.

Better regulation, yes, but we must also give the developing countries that are most in need the means of building up their capacity to participate in international trade; that is, we must sustain our momentum on Aid for Trade. Helping poor countries to develop their productive capacities and to participate in international trade today is about enabling them to move forward more quickly on the path of growth tomorrow.

Since 2005 Aid for Trade has seen a steady increase without impacting on the global commitments in other sectors such as health, education or water. The crisis must not detract us from our goal. Next July, when the WTO hosts the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade, we shall focus on evaluating more closely the impact of Aid for Trade on development so as to better highlight its importance and relevance.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Millennium Goals can deliver real development if they are achieved simultaneously. The WTO can and must make its contribution by concluding the Doha Round and by ensuring that Aid for Trade is maintained at current levels.

When you come to examine the WTO's contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Goals, we would settle for “good pupil, could do better”.

Thank you for your attention.