NOUVELLES: ALLOCUTIONS DG SUPACHAI PANITCHPAKDI
25 mai 2004
°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Public Symposium “Multilateralism at a crossroads”
25 au 27 mai 2004, Genève
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> Allocutions: Supachai Panitchpakdi
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to welcome you here at the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ headquarters.
Every year, more and more people find their way to Geneva to attend our
annual Public Symposium, and this year, the number of registered
participants is almost 1200, including more than 150 speakers. This
growing number sends a strong signal to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ, its Secretariat and its
Members, that the need for public debate and reflection on the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ and
the multilateral trading system is not diminished. On the contrary, your
presence here today proves that the transparency efforts that I, and my
predecessors, have made are more necessary than ever. In this respect,
allow me at the start to thank the Government of Norway for its generous
financial support to organize our Public Symposium. As was the case in
2003, it is thanks to the Norwegian authorities that we are able to hold
this event and ensure the participation of people from different parts
of the world, in particular from the least-developed countries. Let me
reiterate that without such support, we would not be in a position to do
so and I would like to encourage other °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members to follow this
example.
I personally attach the utmost importance to open and interactive events
such as °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ's Public Symposia. It goes without saying that you can learn
and study international trade theory at universities around the world.
In doing so, many economists - including myself - have developed their
fascination for trade matters and many will still follow. One can read
about trade in the newspapers or on the Internet - more often than ever
before – and compare the continuously changing opinions and positions on
all aspects of the multilateral trading system. I strongly encourage you
to continue to do so.
But the realities of trade cannot be taught from textbooks or
appreciated from surfing the net. They have to be experienced. °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ's
Public Symposia provide for these reality checks by bringing together
the various stakeholders and actors of the multilateral trading system,
stimulating open debate. This provides all of you with an opportunity to
get further involved and be genuinely exposed to the full diversity of
opinions and positions, as is clearly reflected in this year's
programme.
I know that you come here for your own specific reasons, be it to
participate in the impressive 3-day symposium programme, to listen to
the many excellent speakers, or for the networking opportunities that
this event offers to all of you. Or maybe the slightly thought-provoking
title of the Symposium, “Multilateralism at a Crossroads”, made you
decide to make the trip to Geneva. Whatever the reason, I am convinced
that you will be able to find topics of real interest among the numerous
and ambitious workshops that will be held in the coming days. Our
formula – repeated again in this year – of allowing participants to
organize their own workshops, is one of the foundations for success of
the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Public Symposia. This year a total of 29 workshops will be held,
of which 4 are organized by the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ and 25 by NGOs, intergovernmental
organizations, academic institutions and °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members. Never before have
we seen such a high number. I am extremely pleased that the interest in
working with us to organize the symposium is still growing.
But I believe that there is a more important cause for this impressive
turnout of representatives of non-governmental organizations, research
institutes, academia, governments and parliaments, business and media.
And that is the growing need to better understand and appreciate what is
really at stake at the World Trade Organization and the ongoing Doha
Development Agenda.
The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ is the unique forum for multilateral trade negotiations. At
times of global economic uncertainty and instability, the multilateral
trading system has faced many challenges and setbacks. But the system
has always been the safe haven to which its ever growing and diverse
membership returns, because the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ – like the GATT before it - has been
extraordinarily successful in preserving peaceful trading relations
between nations, and generating the necessary conditions for economic
growth. This is what brought °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members to their decision to launch the
Doha Development Agenda in 2001.
But times change quickly and memories tend to be short. The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ and the
multilateral system are under pressure again to deliver results. I have
consistently argued that, if governments and their constituents – and
that means all of you! – lose faith in the ability of the Doha
negotiations to deliver results, we can expect to see a growing
imbalance between multilateral and bilateral deal making, widening the
gap between stronger and weaker countries. The foundations upon which
the multilateral trading system is built, non-discrimination and
transparency, are at stake here. These core principles make the
international trading environment more predictable and less complex. If
we don't make sufficient progress in the negotiations and conclude them
successfully, it is the poorest countries that will lose the most.
Apparently, my message is having the desired effect because the mood is
changing, both within and outside of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ.
Ladies and Gentlemen, an important and historic window of opportunity is
before us. Your presence here at the end of May could not have been
better timed.
As you all know, 2004 is a crucial year for the Doha negotiations and
the multilateral trading system in general. We are again at a
crossroads. Since the beginning of this year, starting with the
instrumental efforts by USTR Zoellick, we have witnessed a number of
very important initiatives and inputs to help move the process forward.
I personally saw a much needed, new level of political commitment at
important ministerial gatherings such as the OECD Ministerial Conference
in Paris and the LDC Ministerial Conference in Senegal. °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members are
showing a remarkable sense of political urgency and realism, combined
with the willingness to negotiate substance, and are determined to reach
framework agreements by July. This became particularly clear when
European Commissioners Lamy and Fischler recently unfolded their
courageous plans, evoking solution-oriented and forward-looking
responses from important groups such as the G20. The atmosphere and
political environment in which we are working today have clearly changed
and will no doubt, be further influenced by upcoming Ministerial
gatherings, such as those of the African Union in Kigali and the APEC
countries meeting in Chile. Progress is there for all to see. I am
accordingly very pleased that Commissioner Lamy, being one of its
contributors, has found the time to join us this morning before leaving
to attend the EU-Mercosur Summit.
But we must not be over-confident. We are still faced with a number of
very real and complex difficulties. The strong and unequivocal message
of political confidence and determination that has come out of recent
international gatherings needs to be translated into concrete action and
solid progress at the Geneva negotiating table. We only have very
limited time. Nor should we forget that, if we fail to seize this
opportunity, we run the risk of losing the rest of this year, as well as
most of 2005. I am therefore continually urging °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members to balance
their ambition with realism.
At moments of apparent success, it is tempting to seek more than is
feasible and pre-empt the final outcome of the negotiations. But, let's
remember that the July package is not the end of the Doha negotiations.
We are looking for framework-level agreements which will provide a solid
platform to conclude the negotiations subsequently. As I said in Paris
during the recent OECD Ministerial Conference – the Doha mandate will
still be there after July and it is against that yardstick that we all
will have the chance to judge the end result before agreeing to it.
The responsibility for successfully concluding the Doha negotiations
does not fall upon the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members alone. Since the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Ministerial
Conference in Seattle in 1999, national and international trade policy
has been under heavy scrutiny from civil society organizations from
around the world. Many of the participants here today were part of this
development. Whatever your point of view, it has to be acknowledged that
you succeeded in making your voices heard and in having your arguments
–at least some- taken into account by the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ and its Members. It is
equally true that, because of this growing influence, you too can be
partially held accountable for the success AND failures this
organization has seen.
The time has come to show that you can live up to that responsibility,
as some of you already did after the unfortunate outcome of the Cancun
Ministerial Conference. Over the years, familiarity with the
multilateral trading system has grown. Many of the organizations here
today have built up a tremendous network of knowledge and resources. I
urge you to use your knowledge and experience in a responsible way, to
the longer term benefit of the system and its Members. The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ is at
work again, determined to further improve and reform the multilateral
system, to the benefit of its Members and their constituents. I see no
reason why you should not add your voice to that.
Thank you.