. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(03)/ST/132
13 September 2003
(03-4911)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth Session
Cancún, 10 - 14 September 2003Original:  French
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Statement by H.E. Mrs Yacinthe Wodobode
Minister of Commerce, Industry a nd Promotion of the Private Sector
The delegation of the Central African Republic wishes to greet the Mexican authorities and
express its sincere congratulations to them and to the WTO Secretariat on the success of this Fifth
Ministerial Conference, marked by the accession of Cambodia and Nepal.
We also sympathize with the Swedish people on the loss they have suffered as a result of the
tragic death of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
On this occasion, I should like to call on all my fellow women Ministers in this room to
pursue our struggle to occupy posts of responsibility and make a greater contribution to eliminating all
forms of violence against women in the world.
At the current stage of our work, I should like to express my delegation's concerns regarding
the following subjects of negotiation:
Sectoral initiative on cotton
The Central African delegation adds its voice to that of other delegations which support the
sectoral initiative on cotton.
The Central African Republic is a cotton-producing country and despite its considerable
natural potential following a number of reforms in this sector, it is still today facing considerable
difficulties in this sector, which employs a large part of the rural population accounting for over
60 per cent of the country's inhabitants.
This is why my country took part in the meeting of Ministers for Trade of West and Central
African-cotton producing countries held in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, in June 2003.
The Central African Government attaches importance to this sector, particularly because
cotton-growing is an important factor in food security in my country as subsistence crops and cotton
are complementary.
Nevertheless, in order to reach equitable solutions, it is also extremely important to dissociate
the cotton issue as set out in the sectoral initiative on cotton, which we support, and the suggestion of
linking cotton and artificial fibres, as proposed by the major industrial producers of cotton.
In the countries supporting the African initiative, cotton is produced by small farmers without
large resources, whereas artificial fibres are produced by industrial enterprises that often occupy adominant position as a result of their technological and financial power.WT/MIN(03)/ST/132
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The delegation of the Central African Republic therefore urges all those who support the
sectoral initiative on cotton constantly to bear in mind the fact that textiles and clothing made from
artificial fibres are artificial products and are very different from textiles and clothing made from
cotton, which is a natural product.
Consequently, these two products, namely artificial fibres and cotton, must be dealt with
separately and any association of the two runs the risk of creating divergency and even a lack of
solidarity.
Cotton is so soft and I do not understand why dealing with the question is so hard!
As regards the following:
Access to essential medicines
The delegation of the Central African Republic welcomes the decision to authorize access to
essential medicines for countries that lack manufacturing facilities.  It hopes that this decision will be
implemented in practice and benefit poor countries.
Special and differential treatment
The delegation of the Central African Republic also has concerns regarding the review of the
provisions on special and differential treatment with a view to strengthening them and making them
more advantageous for the least-developed countries, which are facing great difficulties in
formulating trade policies, effectively participatin g in negotiations, and implementing the multilateral
trade agreements.
At Cancún, but above all, after Cancún 2003, I ask you not to turn away from such essential
issues as the sectoral initiative on cotton, effective access to essential medicines for populations in
poor countries, and the in-depth reform of special and differential treatment to which I have just
referred.
I thank you for your kind attention.
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