Hong Kong of China, the host of the sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, has called on WTO members to do their utmost at the current meeting so that enough progress can be made to complete the final dash of 2006 deadline on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

Speaking Wednesday at the plenary session of the WTO ministerial conference, which opened here on Tuesday, HK's Permanent Secretary of Commerce, Industry and Technology Denise Yue said Hong Kong is a staunch supporter of the WTO and the rules- based multilateral trading system it represents.

"To us, free and open trade is not just an academically sound proposition, its welfare enhancing effect is borne out by fact, namely the phenomenal economic growth and social development of Hong Kong over the years," she said.

She noted that Hong Kong of China would like to see tangible progress on all fronts of negotiations in this ministerial conference, in agriculture, NAMA (non-agricultural market access), services, rules, development and other areas.

On agriculture, she said, not enough progress has been made. "I hope members will do their utmost in the negotiations this week to achieve more inroads."

Development is the other key to the success of the DDA. For DDA to live up to its name, the WTO membership must redouble its efforts in this area and concentrate on the needs and sensitivities of developing economies, including the least developed among them, the HK official said.

With regard to NAMA and services, she said, they concern essentially the reduction and elimination of market access barriers, the core business and competence of the WTO. "We support the reduction and elimination of all tariffs and other barriers to trade."

Yue said rules represent challenges of a different kind. They may be less visible than market access barriers but are of no less importance. They constitute the guarantee of the multilateral trading system in which international trade is conducted.

"So the continued improvement of rules matters much to the credible conclusion of the DDA and sustainability of the multilateral trading system," she added.

Yue urged members of the WTO to tip the balance in the right direction in the DDA negotiations by delivering a credible outcome in Hong Kong. "Hong Kong of China will do everything it can to encourage and facilitate this outcome," she said.

Source: Xinhua