WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/85
20May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2107)
Original: French MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
HAITI
Statement Circulated byH.E. Mr.Fresnel Germain,
Minister ofTrade andIndustry
Haiti isproud tohavebeenoneofthefirstsignatories totheGATT, whose 50thAnniversary
wearecelebrating. Weareequally pleased tobeafull-fledged Member oftheWorld Trade Organization
(WTO) which iscurrently holding itssecond Ministerial Conference since itscreation following the
conclusion oftheUruguay Round.
Inthenewregulatory framework ofworld trade, special attention hasbeen paidtothe
Least-DevelopedCountries(LDCs)inwhosefavouraplanofactionwasapprovedattheFirstMinisterial
Conference heldinSingapore inDecember 1996.
Thegreatest handicap oftheLDCs istheirlowcapacity toproduce andmarket theirgoods
andservices inforeign markets, which marginalizes themfromtheprocess ofglobalization andtrade
liberalization.
Thepoor exportable supply oftheLDCs isexplained byweaknesses intheirinstitutional
framework andinfrastructure (notably roads andenergy), andalackofskilled labour.
TheHigh-Level Meeting organized inOctober 1997toassess theneeds ofLDCs withrespect
totrade development raised hopes ofseeing theabove-mentioned constraints lifted, ifonlypartially,
particularly since institutions asprestigious andresponsible astheWTO, UNDP, theIMF, the
World Bank, UNCTAD andtheITChavecommitted themselves topooling theirresources inorder
todefine anintegrated framework ofassistance forthese countries intheireffort toraisetheirlevel
sufficiently toavoid marginalization.
Haiti issatisfied withthesteps thatarebeing taken byalltheinstitutions concerned aswell
asbyanumber ofWTO Member countries toensure thatthere isafollow-up tothismeeting, and
weundertake toplayourpartingiving concrete form totheplanned measures.
Itakethisopportunity topoint outthatHaiti istheonlyLDC inAmerica andgeographically
oneoftheclosest countries tothetwomost industrialized nations ontheAmerican continent. This
isanembarrassing andalmost intolerable situation forus.
Iamsurethatthesituation isjustasunpleasant forourimmediate andfar-off neighbours on
thecontinent, andIamappealing totheirspirit ofsolidarity tohelpustobenefit fromtheirexperience
ininstitutional development andtechnical training, justtomention twoareas inwhich a"bigpush"
could haveanextraordinary impact onthecountry 'sability toattract foreign investment which, in
itsturn, would leaddirectly tothecreation ofexportable goods andservices.
__________