. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(99)/ST/124
2 December 1999
(99-5302)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Third Session
Seattle, 30 November - 3 December 1999Original:  English
MONGOLIA
Statement by H. E. Ms. Nyamosor Tuya ,
Minister for External Relations
It is a privilege for me and for my delegation to be here at the Third Ministerial Conference of
the WTO and to take part in the exciting discussions that are taking place here – for the third day now- on important issues that have a direct bearing on our peoples' life today, and are vital for tomorrow.
I wish to express my gratitude to our hosts, the Government of the United States of America and the
City of Seattle, for all the arrangements that have been made in the preparation and the conduct of this
Conference, and to note the efforts made by the Director-General and the Secretariat in the difficult
lead-up to this Conference.
I wish to associate myself with the many delegates who, before me, spoke on the importance
of trade in promoting development and ensuring prosperity.  In this age of globalization, development
and prosperity can only be achieved through shared effort, and through gearing that effort to the needs
of tomorrow's ever more interdependent and ever mo re technologically advanced world.  As we enter
a new century, the question we ought to be putting ourselves is whether, decades down the road, our
children will still be living in a world divided into the developed and the developing countries,whether there still will be three billion people living under two dollars a day – a mockery of human
dignity! – whether, given the already complex nature of the global challenges we now face, we will be
able to sustain stability and peace if poverty is not reduced, if trade does not provide economic
benefits to today's – and shall I say tomorrow's? – have not's.  These are all questions that, as we
know, call for an urgent answer.  One answer is that we need to build a shared prosperity and ensure a
shared growth through better integrating small and vulnerable economies into the international trading
system, and building a system that benefits the developing countries and addresses the concerns of
economies in transition.
My country, Mongolia, has been a Member of the WTO for three years now.  This
membership has been consistent with wide-ranging economic reform agenda that my country has been
implementing over the past several years.  It has also been consistent with our trade liberalization
policy one aim of which is to reduce the heavy cost burden caused to companies and consumers alike
by the country's land-locked location which, de facto, serves as a natural barrier to our trade
expansion.  We also see trade liberalization as conducive to our development goals by contributing totransfer of technology and knowledge.  Mongolia is now a most liberal trade regime with low tariffs,
no quantitative restrictions and no export subsidies whatever.WT/MIN(99)/ST/124
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Work is ongoing in my country on making our domestic rules and procedures and laws
consistent with the WTO rules.  That proved to be a difficult task which calls for deeper training and
expertise.  My government therefore is very much supportive of the view that trade-related technical
cooperation and technical assistance should be further extended to developing countries to strengthen
their institutional and human resources capacity build ing in the area of the multilateral trading system.
In our view, the present notification requirements and procedures need also to be simplified and
streamlined without causing prejudice to the transparency of the system.
We in Mongolia believe in the merits of a rules-based multilateral trading system and are
convinced that it needs further strengthening to en hance the gains to living standard which come from
trade.  However, unless the WTO addresses the specific needs and problems of small and vulnerable
economies these gains may prove to be volatile.  Mongolia therefore supports the incorporation of aprovision on small economies into the Ministerial Declaration and the specific suggestion to instruct
the Committee on Trade and Development on drawing up a work program aimed at enhancing the
small economies' integration into the multilateral trading system.
We support the inclusion into the ministerial text of a paragraph underlying the continuing
importance of special and differential treatment for developing countries to enable these countries to
reap greater benefits from their membership while they work to resolve their development goals.
With regard to agriculture, we believe that greater access for the products from developing countries
and subsidies issues need to be addressed.
Mongolia stands unequivocally for further opening of the services sector, which we believe
constitutes a major sector for foreign investment, job creation and skill development.  Information
technology is offering unlimited possibilities for trade expansion, notably through expanding
e-commerce.  We are for the continuation of the current practice of not imposing customs duties on
electronic transmissions.  Being a land-locked developing country we also believe that freedom of
transit transportation should be dealt with more closely by the WTO.  We should look at the
possibility of developing clearer and more specific rules regarding freedom of transit as incorporated
in Article V, GATT 1994.
In trade facilitation we believe that a framework of disciplines or guidelines on the
administration of trade procedures and customs-related issues should be looked at more closely.
Mongolia's sole neighbours and her major trading partners, China and Russia, are still not
Members of the WTO.  This constitutes a major weakness for the global trading system, which needs
to be remedied as soon as possible.  We therefore congratulate China on the conclusion of its
negotiations with the United States and wish further progress to Russia's accession efforts.  For the
WTO to develop into a truly global trade organization membership of China and Russia is crucial
My delegation is confident that at this Ministerial Conference Ministers will spare no efforts
to succeed in moving the trading system ahead and thus moving closer to the goal of global prosperity
which is our ultimate goal.
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