DOHA, 7 November 2006 — Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Qatar’s first deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, has called for the revival of the World Trade Organization’s Doha Development Agenda (Doha Round) and warned that failure do so would lead to a catastrophe for developing countries.

While delivering the keynote address at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) policy dialogue with non-members on “Aid for Trade: From Policy to Practice” at the Ritz-Carlton Doha Hotel here yesterday, Hamad said there was need for great political commitment from all countries and urged developing countries to help make the agreement a success.

He also asked development and trade policymakers from the countries attending the two-day conference to come out with some fruitful and promising results to make the Doha Round a reality. The meeting has been organized by the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC).

“The success of the Doha Round will improve trade links globally and will help sustain economic growth,” Hamad said. He pointed out that member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) had already engaged in restructuring which would improve regional and international trade integration. He emphasized the need for the diversification of GCC economies and the implementation of the privatization program, adding that it was also vital to improve the financial markets in the region. “Intra-GCC trade during the last decade has grown 3 percent annually compared to world trade of 8 percent. So there is a big gap. GCC countries must work together to reduce this gap substantially,” Hamad said.

He said there were many barriers hindering trade among the GCC countries. He called for the standardization of regulations in all GCC countries and called for the use of IT at ports, airports and borders to reduce bureaucratic procedures and increase trade. “If these measures are taken, they will be reflected in economic development and the creation of new jobs in the region,” Hamad said.

Ahmad Al-Mutawa, secretary-general of GOIC, said: “The main objective behind the aid-for-trade agenda is to actually help countries benefit from market opening opportunities that are being created through unilateral or multilateral liberalization efforts. It is quite unfortunate that efforts to conclude the Doha Round launched five years ago have faltered in the face of intransigence by many countries, both developed and developing.”

He added: “We seek integration into global markets for goods and services not as an end in itself; rather, we seek it in recognition of its potential contribution to growth, job creation and poverty alleviation.”

Al-Mutawa said it was morally unacceptable that in today’s world, more than two billion people continued to live below the poverty line.

The OECD was invited to provide input in making aid for trade an effective instrument in assisting developing countries to increase exports of goods and services, to integrate into multilateral trading system, and to benefit from liberalized trade and increased market access.

OECD Deputy Secretary-General Kiyotaka Akasaka said: “Dialogue with developing countries is an increasingly important part of our work. The ministerial level meetings in Monterey, Doha, Cancun and Hong Kong reinforce the need for dialogue. And OECD members recognize the need to reach out in order to develop a mutual understanding and common vision of the challenges ahead, especially in the area of trade and development.” The task ahead is not an easy one and requires action at several levels, he added.

WTO members reconfirmed in Hong Kong that, beyond market access, support is needed to help developing countries, particularly the least developed countries (LDCs), benefit from trade liberalization.

International trade with domestic reform and sound macroeconomic policies can be a powerful engine in promoting sustained economic growth, employment opportunities and poverty reduction. This has been demonstrated in a number of developing countries that have achieved impressive economic growth rates and substantial reductions in poverty. However, some countries are experiencing difficulties in capturing the benefits of more open trade.

The agreement to put developing countries’ priorities at the center of the 2001 DDA has highlighted the challenge of how to effectively address development concerns in the multilateral trading system, and in particular how to help developing countries overcome their trade-related institutional, human resource and supply capacity needs.