. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/ST/55
11 November 2001
(01-5651)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth SessionDoha, 9 - 13 November 2001Original:  English
CROATIA
Statement by H.E. Mr Neven Mimica
Minister for European Integration
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, I have the honour and great
satisfaction to address the Ministerial Conference for the first time since Croatia became a Member of
the World Trade Organization.  I would also like to express my gratitude to our Qatari hosts for the
excellent organization of this Conference, which we all hope and believe, would be a successful one.
Success here in Doha, which is, in our view, the launching of new, comprehensive round of
multilateral trade negotiations, is practically an imperative.  As we are all aware, another Seattle-like
failure would simply be detrimental to the multilater al trading system.  The actions that we shall take
here on Tuesday are even more important in the light of the tragic events of 11 September and theirharmful effects on the global economy.  However, despite the predictions of recession and slowing in
the world trade, these events should not be an excu se for increasing protectionism and barriers to the
world trade.  The only feasible option for overcoming the present difficulties is further trade
liberalization and strengthening of the WTO system in order to adjust it to the challenges of the
21
st century.  We believe that is the main prerequisite for a stable and successful growth and
development of our national economies, in particular of those with small and open domestic market,
such as Croatia.
Croatia is determined and committed to contribute to this process by basing its future
development upon open and export-oriented trade and economic policies compliant with the WTO
rules.  Following that line, Croatia, as a recently acceded country is honouring all its WTO
commitments with the firm conviction that the countr y's active participation in the multilateral trading
system is contributing to its economic growth.  It is with that same conviction that we support
continuous multilateral trade liberalization within the WTO, based on overall balance of rights,
interests and obligations of all Members.  In this context, looking towards new round of negotiations,
I would like to stress that commitments, which Croatia has taken during the accession process, in
particular regarding market access, exceeded in many aspects those taken in the Uruguay Round.  Inthis respect, I would like to reiterate that we w ould have serious difficulties in accepting possible new
commitments in that area before the expiration of the transitional period agreed during the accession
process.  We therefore believe and expect that an appropriate form of flexibility will be put in place to
accommodate these concerns.
Despite these concerns, Croatia has repeatedly expressed its strong support for the launch of
the new, comprehensive round of multilateral trade negotiations, as one of the most appropriate tools
for long-term economic growth and sustainable development.
Only a comprehensive and balanced negotiating agenda directed towards enhancing market
access, as well as towards strengthening, developing and consolidating the rules and disciplines can
satisfy the interests of the WTO constituency by large.  In addition to enhanced access to foreignWT/MIN(01)/ST/55
Page 2
markets, Croatia is in favour of establishing multilateral framework on investment and competition,
thus supporting negotiations in these areas.  Furthermore, in the context of achieving a balanced
agenda that will, to the largest possible extent, satisfy the interests of all, we need to seek that other
areas of particular interest and importance to the membership should adequately be addressed.
For Croatia, as a small and open transitional economy, there is another important issue -
developing of regional cooperation and trade liberalization, what we see as a complementary and not
conflicting process with the multilateral trading system.  In this respect, the process of integration
within the larger network of regional free trade agreements is of utmost importance for us.  Croatia
has made some important steps toward regional cooperation by signing a number of free trade and
other agreements, among which we would like to stress the particular importance of one  - namely the
Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, Croatia's main trading partner.
However, some of Croatia's neighbouring countries and trading partners are still outside the
multilateral trading system.  We support their accession to the WTO as soon as realistically possible,
as we are convinced that adherence to the WTO rules and principles would render their economic
policies predictable and integrated into the global economy.  In the meantime, we believe that regionaltrade agreements based on these same principles could serve as a bridge to their full membership in
the WTO.
In conclusion, I would like to stress that the draft Ministerial Declaration, as we received it
before the Doha Conference, constitutes a good basis for negotiations on a mutually satisfactory basis.
Naturally, like the other Members, we have a number of areas of concerns, some of which are
significant, that we are seeking to address in ou r negotiations.  However, we hope that all WTO
Members would have enough strength and wish to overcome the current difficulties, so this new
round of negotiations would be a success giving a boost to faster growth and development.
The Croatian delegation and I personally will do our utmost to contribute in attaining this
objective.
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