Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished Ministers,
Director General Of WTO,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen

I would like to begin by expressing our sincere thanks to the people and the government of Mexico for the kind hospitality extended to us and the excellent arrangements made for the meeting here. Nepal is finally joining the World Trade organization. I cannot overemphasize what it means to us. It is a watershed event for Nepal and the Nepalese people. On this important occasion, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and the Nepalese people, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the members of WTO for the decision that you have just made to bring Nepal into the fold as the 148th member of the World trade organisation. After lengthy and comprehensive negotiations, today, Nepal, a least developed land locked country tucked in the lap of the High Himalyas, is set to join the mainstream of international economic regime.

Our people have pinned high hopes on this membership and the follow up activities. It is our conviction that our joining this organisation would not only enhance our effectiveness and efficiency in trading capacity by adapting ourselves to the many trade related rules and regulations, but would also result in the expansion of trade, leading to a higher level of growth and enhancement of the quality of life of our people. We believe that the WTO regime would help countries like Nepal to get out of the vicious circle of poverty and lead them on to the virtuous cycle of prosperity by being responsive to the needs and aspirations of the under privileged and marginalized people of the least developed countries. As we live in an increasingly globalised and inter-connected world, there is a mutuality of interest in doing that and it is only through the mutuality of efforts that we could attain those objectives.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to those trading partners, with whom we negotiated intensively to bring the process into a successful conclusion. Without their best of efforts and understanding, it would not have been possible for us to complete the negotiations. I especially appreciate their hard work and indomitable spirit in the final stage of negotiations. I would also like to put on record our profound appreciation for the purposeful and resolute efforts of the Chairman of the working party, Ambassador Pierre Louis Girard, in successfully steering the accession process.

Similarly, I would like to register our heartfelt thanks to the Director General of WTO, Dr. Supatchai, for his active and supportive involvement in the process and his efficient and untiring Accession Division for completing the necessary process of our accession. We had not imagined that the accession process would involve so much of coordination and hard work. Our sincere thanks would also go to the UNDP and other relevant agencies for their valuable assistance.

I would like to offer our thanks to UNCTAD, especially for the useful and ready technical advice, it provided to us throughout the entire process. The fellow member states of the LDCs and many other friendly countries always expressed an unqualified support for our accession, for which we are most grateful. Many thanks also go to WTO Subcommittee on LDCs for coming out with very positive guidelines for the acceding LDCs. I am confident that this reservoir of goodwill and understanding, which we were privileged to tap during the negotiation process, would continue to spring up in the days ahead as we become involved in the WTO process.

Nepal has pursued liberal economic policies for quite some time and the process has been further intensified since 1980s. The Government has played the role of a facilitator and has tried to create a favourable environment for unleashing the innate creativity and entrepreneurship of the people. While striving to create the right policy framework, the Government has concentrated its activities on building social and economic infrastructure and on ensuring an accelerated rate of economic growth to be shared by the widest section of the community. Promotion of a pro poor and sustainable growth and the reduction of poverty are therefore fundamental priorities of the government.

With population of about 23 million, Nepal’s GDP is just about five billion US dollars. Average annual growth rate in the last decade has been around 5 per cent. But still, about 38 per cent of the people live below the poverty line. Over the years, there has been consistent improvement in the socio-economic fields such as infant mortality rate and literacy rate and access to health facilities, and also in building infrastructure. Still, we have a long way to go. An enhanced level of economic growth, generated in large measure by consolidation of economic fundamentals and the expansion of the international trade, has played an important role in diffusion of the benefits of growth to the wider section of the community.

In all these developments, international trade, therefore, has played a key role. It is not only a source of foreign exchange and principal instrument for the generation of income and employment, but it is also a prime mover of entrepreneurship, an important means of transfer of technology and a source of creation of much needed capital in the country. But its sustainability, widening of its base and effective backward linkages have been a great challenge to us all.

Foreign trade also occupies an important place in our economic activities, because of its relative size. Its value is about 30 per cent of our GDP. Over the years, Nepal’s foreign trade has grown rapidly, but the growth has been rather non-linear and unsteady. Volatility of the international market, over dependence on a couple of products like garments and carpets, infancy of our business sector, the lack of economies of scale and constantly shifting global trends have heavily curtailed our comparative advantage in the international trade. Besides, we have further constraints of being a land locked country, which places heavy burden on our competitiveness. Therefore, enhancement of trading capacity, enabling international environment and effective and pro-active market access mechanisms to the LDC products would contribute to enhancing our trading potential thereby meaningfully integrating ourselves into the international economic regime. It is in this spirit that we have committed ourselves to undertaking various obligations in accordance with WTO principles and provisions.

We hope and believe that it will lead to the enhancement of efficiency of our entrepreneurs and also make our trading activities competitive by promoting better business environment. While we would do our best to fulfil these commitments, we have committed ourselves with the full expectation that we shall be receiving effective and enhanced level of support and cooperation from our developed partners.

Excellencies,

The global trading regime must be made more equitable, universal and sustainable in order to reap the benefits of liberalisation and globalisation by all. By so doing, we will also contribute to promoting peace and prosperity around the world. Inclusiveness of all in prosperity is key to the lasting peace, success and progress in the twenty first century. In conclusion, let me stress here that we have come a long way in the run up to our membership for WTO. Preparing as we are now for a long and uncharted voyage to the new world, we know that many challenges and opportunities lie ahead of us. We need a strong and resilient ship and good navigational tools and skills.

As we embark upon this voyage, we seek continuous support and cooperation from the international community to weather the tempestuous currents and overcome many obstacles we may face in the vast ocean, so that we sail smoothly towards the promised land. To that end, we look forward to a productive and meaningful engagement in the World Trade Organisation.