Forau Sends Strong Message to the WTO Membership

Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Government Communication Unit
Media Release 06-12-13-GH

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Honourable Clay Forau Soalaoi, sends yet another clear message to successfully conclude the Bali Package to the wider WTO membership during the plenary session and Heads of Delegation yesterday.

Mr. Forau said, Solomon Islands came to this conference with a high expectation and that is, for the Bali Package to be delivered this week.

“As an LDC, we need the Multilateral Trading System (MTS) to deliver on the promises of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Although the package before us may not fully capture everything we aspire to achieve, we hope it will be acceptable to all the members,” Mr Forau said.

Delivering his statement as Chair of the Pacific Islands country WTO members, Mr Forau stressed that the Pacific Islands are some of the most vulnerable economies within the WTO membership given their smallness, remoteness, their geographical fragmentation, heavy reliance on a few goods and services exports and are on the frontline of climate change.

“The Bali package provides opportunities for some of our members and perhaps little benefit for others, but our presence here in Bali is to support a successful outcome of MC9 (Bali Package) that restores confidence in the multilateral rules based system which is predictable, fair and inclusive,” he said.

Hon. Forau also challenged the WTO members that if an LDC like Solomon Islands and its neighbors in the Pacific can agree to the Bali package then he sees no reason why the developing and developed countries cannot agree to the package.

“We cannot forever negotiate,” he stressed.

Hon. Forau urged all members to exercise the necessary political flexibilities to ensure they have a package at the end of the conference.

ENDS

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