General Council (2008/02/05)
Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
My delegation very much appreciates DG Lamy’s report on the state of play and the future negotiations process, as it helps member countries regain a sense of urgency in reaching a deal by the end of this year. We join other members in stepping up our efforts to meet the worldwide expectations of finally seeing the conclusion of the Doha Round.
My delegation also looks forward to the release of the revised AG and NAMA texts in the course of this week. We sincerely appreciate the two chairs’
tremendous efforts in moving the process forward. We will all need to make last- minute efforts and exert maximum flexibility to reduce unsettled issues and move onto crosscutting negotiations.
Mr. Chairman,
In order to ensure the success of horizontal discussions, let me briefly raise two important points regarding the future negotiations process.
Firstly, as was rightly pointed out by many delegations during the last informal TNC meeting, we should take a step-by-step approach. We should move carefully from one stage to the other only when there is a consensus among the broad membership. Hence, while not losing sight of existing time-constraints, we should not enclose our future negotiations within strict deadlines.
Secondly, as regard the scope of horizontal discussions, we should bear in mind the fact that services and rules are vital components of the DDA negotiations.
We believe that including services and rules in the horizontal agenda will eventually contribute to the success of discussions by giving Ministers adequate room for a possible trade-off. In this context, we expect a revised rules text before moving on to the horizontal process.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
