Cambodia continues to call on developed countries to open ways for least developed countries (LDCs) to survive and prosper, said Cambodian Senior Minister, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh Saturday.
Addressing the plenary session of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, which opened in Hong Kong Tuesday, Prasidh said the Livingstone Declaration adopted at the 4th LDC Ministerial Meeting in Zambia on June 26, 2005 shall be a working document at all negotiating tables in this Conference.
He pointed out that many pledges towards LDCs were made since the Doha Round of negotiations started four years ago. However, a few were so far materialized.
He said Cambodia welcomes the Memberships decision to amend the TRIPS Agreement to provide better access to affordable drugs. This is one of the hot stones Cambodia has had to swallow during its WTO accession process.
"I wish to also welcome the decision of the TRIPS Council to extend the Transitional Period... for LDCs until July 1, 2013," he added.
TRIPS refers to Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights.
Regarding the commitment of developed countries to provide duty-free and quota-free access to all products from all LDCs, Prasidh said Cambodia strongly urges the United States of America to fulfill her commitments under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).
"As the leader of the capitalist world, she is supposed to be the first to do so, and not the last one. I also urge well-established developing countries to provide similar treatment to LDCs," he said.
Prasidh emphasized that any commitment on "Aid for Trade" shall be part and parcel of the duty-free and quota-free market access for LDCs, and shall be done without any conditionality.
"Open us the door to your room, not to your room's wall," he added.
The week-long Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, which is being attended by delegates from the WTO's 150 members, aims to advance the deadlocked Doha Round trade negotiations.
The Doha Round trade talks, launched in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001, have been stalled due to deep difference between the developed and developing members on market access, agriculture subsides and tariff structure.