WORLD TRADE WT/FIFTY/ST/1
19May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2070)
Original: English 50thANNIVERSARY
Geneva, 19May1998
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION
Statement circulated byMr.Jacques Diouf
Director-General
(asanobserver)
Youaretoday celebrating theGolden Jubilee oftheoperation ofthemultilateral trading system
which canbesaidtohavebegun inearnest in1948withtheentry intoforce oftheGATT. Fiftyyears
on,world trade hasexpanded enormously andinternational trade lawhasgrown tocover somany
parts ofoureconomic life. FirstGATT andnowtheWTO havebeenakeypartofthatevolution
aswitnessed bytheseven-fold increase inmembership overthepast50years.
Throughout thisperiod ourtwoOrganizations havehadextremely cordial andevercloser
relations, particularly inthelastdecade during which agriculture hasbecome integrated intothesame
globalsystemasothereconomicsectors.IndeedtheUruguayRoundAgreementsrepresentedamilestone
intheevolvement ofthemultilateral trading system. Forthefirsttime,agriculture hasbeenincorporated
intotheoverall international system ofoperationally effective rulesanddisciplines. Wearepleased
athaving contributed totheUruguay Round, where FAO'stechnical expertise wasdrawn upon in
negotiations ontheAgreement onAgriculture, onapplications ofSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
andontheDecision onMeasures Concerning thePossible Negative Effects oftheReform Programme
onLeast-Developed andNetFood Importing Developing Countries.
Notonlyisagriculture affected bychanges intheworld trading system butfoodsecurity itself
isintimately involved. Indeed attheWorld Food Summit inNovember 1996, theentire international
community committed itself toensure thatfood, agricultural trade andoverall trade policies were
conducive tofostering foodsecurity forallthrough afairandmarket-oriented world trade system.
TheroleoftheGATT andnowtheWorld Trade Organization indeveloping suchasystem hasbeen
indispensable. I,therefore, withpleasure extend mycongratulations totheWTO onthisauspicious
occasion andlookforward tocontinued anddeeper collaboration between ourtwoOrganizations.
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