Mur Lura
Il-Ministru tal-Kummerc jindirizza l-Konferenza tal-W.T.O. f'Singapore
PR2149
11/12/1996
11/12/1996
| Il-Ministru tal-Kummerð, Leo Bincat, illum indirizza l-Konferenza | Ministerjali tal-Kummerð tal-W.T.O li qed tiltaqa' bóalissa íewwa Singapore. |
| Il-Ministru óa sehem ukoll f'konsultazzjonijiet privati | ministerjali dwar aspetti li jolqtu x-xiri mill-Gvern (Government Procurement), l-investiment u l-politika tal-Kompetizzjoni, kif ukoll l-istandards fil-qasam tax-xoæol. |
| Matul il-jum il-Ministru Brincat iltaqa' wkoll ma' M.Kaczurga, | Ministru æar-Relazzjonijiet Ekonomiði tal-Polonja, Yilmaz Ayfer, Ministru tal-Kummerð Barrani tat-Turkija, l-E.T. Jaseem Abdullah Al-Hudhas, Ministru tal-Kummerð Barrani tal-Kuwait u Robert Sisila, Ambaxxatur tal-Gúejjer Solomon æall-U.E. |
| Ma' dawn il-Ministri, il-Ministru Brincat semma' il-possibbilta' ta' | aktar rabtiet kummerðjali diretti bejn iú-úewí naóat, ta' uúu ta' facilitajiet ta' trasbord permezz tal-Freeport, u ta' æajnuna Maltija, biex ikunu jistæu jippenetraw swieq tan-nofsinhar ta' l-Ewropa u ta' l-Afrika ta' Fuq minn íewwa pajjizna. |
Id-Diskors tal-Ministru Leo Brincat fil-Konferenza tal-WTO isegwi.
WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION - SINGAPORE MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER FOR COMMERCE THE HON. LEO BRINCAT SINGAPORE - WEDNESDAY 11 DECEMBER 1996
Mr Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentleman,
| May I, at the outset, on my behalf and on behalf of the Delegation | and Government of Malta congratulate you on your election the chairmanship of this most important conference, and thank the Government of Singapore for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to us, and for the excellent arrangements made for this conference. |
| I would also like to associate myself with the leaders of other | delegations in thanking the Director-General of the W.T.O, Mr Ruggiero, and his staff for the excellent service they have rendered to member countries of this most important organisation, since its establishment two years ago. |
(Mr Chairman)
| The World Trade Organisation was established at the beginning of | last year to promote the orderly development of world trade. Such development must have as its ultimate objective the promotion of sustainable economic and social development in all countries of the world especially in developing countries, and in particular in the least developed ones. The negotiators of the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations have given the Members of the W.T.O the basic legal instruments, and the institutional framework which they considered necessary for the achievement of this objective, through the implementation of the agreements which make up the final act of the Uruguay Round. |
| In Singapore, we have the opportunity to assess to what extent we | are on the right track in the pursuance of our objectives, and whether we need to make any changes in the legal and institutional framework of the W.T.O. |
| The Government of Malta has a particular interest in the success of | the W.T.O. Living on a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, without any natural resources we depend to a significant extent on trade for our livelihood and well-being. Malta is in fact a net food importing country. Not only, Malta imports a very large proportion of its consumer goods as well as almost all the raw materials and capital goods required for our industries. Malta also imports its fuel needs for the production of energy required for domestic and industrial use. |
| Malta's balance of payments is acquired through export of | manufactured goods and services, tourism, transhipment, shipbuilding and ship-repairing. |
| The Government of Malta supports initiatives to promote free trade | in all its aspects as an instrument which can promote the sustainable development of our economy. Properly administered in a global scenario, free trade can be availed of to promote the better use and more equitable distribution of the world's limited resources, to promote development in hitherto underdeveloped areas, as well as the continuous development and better use of the skills and talents of the inhabitants of the earth. |
| One of the most important achievements of the Uruguay Round of | Trade Negotiations was the conclusion of the Agreement of Trade in Services. In its offer of concessions under this agreement the Government of Malta manifested its belief in the liberalisation of this sector by making a substantial offer in the tourism, insurance, and merchant shipping sectors. The Government of Malta is following on the going negotiations in the framework of the W.T.O in the sectors of telecommunications and financial services. |
| Malta has a number of trade agreements with other countries, the | most important of which is an association agreement with the European Union. The new government of Malta which was voted into office less than two months ago, has, as one of its priorities, the negotiation with the European Union of an agreement establishing an industrial free trade zone between Malta and the Union. This does not imply that Malta prefers regionalism to globalism in matters of trade, but it only underlines the fact that Malta attaches special importance to its commercial relationship with the European Union, with which it conducts about 85% of its visible and invisible trade. |
| Two of the most important issues under active discussion in the | framework of the W.T.O, are the issues of trade and the environment, and of core labour standards. The Government of Malta has, since it became a member of the United Nations Organisation in 1964, insisted on the preservation of the environment for present and future generations of mankind in all UN fora. Its promotion of the notions of the common heritage and common concern of mankind in the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea and on Climate Change is well known. |
| The Government of Malta fully supports the work of the Committee on | Trade and the Environment and wishes to stress its belief that free trade should never be allowed to prejudice the rights of future generations to inherit a healthy environment on which they can base their own sustainable living and development. |
| With regards to the issue of the core labour standards, my | delegation has some preference for this issue to be discussed, primarily, within the framework of the ILO, which has, over the last 50 years establishment itself as the supreme world body dealing with labour issues. |
| After listening carefully to the discussion held in committee | yesterday, my delegation feels that there is a widespread opinion among delegations that further studies, possibly involving both the W.T.O and the ILO, need to be undertaken before a consensus can be reached on this very important question. |
Mr Chairman,
| My delegation feels that it will be very difficult to make further | progress on this issue at this meeting, and my delegation would be prepared to join in what seems to be an emerging consensus, that further studies be held on this issue with the participation of both the W.T.O and ILO. |
| The W.T.O can look with a certain amount of satisfaction on its | achievements in the two years of its existence: membership has grown from the original 76 to 128 and there are 28 other candidates, including some very important trading partner; international trade has been accelerating in the last two years and there are reasons to believe that concessions made under the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations Agreements have contributed substantially to such an acceleration; the W.T.O dispute settlement mechanism is firmly in place and is fast establishing itself as a credible forum for the settlement of trade disputes; and the W.T.O's reporting system has proved to be a very valuable instrument keeping members in line with their commitments under the W.T.O agreements. More efforts, however, are required to make the W.T.O more effective. Negotiations with prospective members and on pending issues need to be concluded as early as possible. Malta feels that our Organisation would benefit from the early membership of countries like China and the Russian Federation. We also feel that more technical aid must be made available to assist small and developing importing countries to be in a better position to honour their commitments under the W.T.O agreements. |
Mr Chairman
The establishment of the W.T.O has certainly been a step in the right direction. My delegation believes that the moderate success which the W.T.O has had in the first two years of its existence should spur us into further efforts to make this organisation a major instrument for the promotion of the sustainable development of the global economy.
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