Thank you, Madam Chair.

Let me first join previous speakers in welcoming all new Ambassadors, as well as the delegations of Russia and Vanuatu, to this, their first General Council Meeting as Members of the WTO.

I would also like to thank the DG for his comprehensive report and assessment on our work since the last meeting of the General Council in July.

At the MC8 (8th Ministerial Conference of the WTO), Ministers instructed us to strengthen the WTO multilateral trading system, to promote development-related issues and to find new approaches to revive the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). My delegation appreciates all the good work being done within the various individual bodies, and we now look forward to seeing how the report of the “Panel for Defining the Future of Trade” can contribute to the task of strengthening the WTO system.

We are encouraged by the progress made on LDC issues, particularly in relation to accessions. The improved guidelines should facilitate the process of LDCs (Least Developed Countries) joining the WTO, and we look forward to the accessions of more new LDC Members, such as Laos and Yemen, and to their further integration into the WTO system.

We are pleased to see also the stock-taking work conducted in the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) Special Session on agreement-specific proposals, monitoring mechanisms and other issues related to Special and Differential Treatment.

Now, turning to the DDA, my delegation welcomes all the technical work carried by the Chair and others in the Trade Facilitation (TF) negotiations. On the subject of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) review, several rounds of technical discussions have been conducted since the start of this year, but there is still some way to go before the end of the tunnel comes into sight. Work needs to be stepped up in both of these areas, TF and DSU.

On Agriculture, the G20 presented a good paper at the 28th of September meeting. In this particular area, we would like to associate ourselves most closely with the statement made by Switzerland on behalf of the G10.

In the area of Environment, the adoption of the list of environment goods in APEC is a positive sign for WTO Members. We hope this momentum can be transferred to Geneva and carried forward into the further discussions. As for other areas of the DDA, we need to find ways of getting the work started as soon as possible.

On the work being undertaken on ITA (Information Technology Agreement) expansion and further Services liberalization, my delegation is very positive. We support the idea that Members need to collectively explore the next steps. It is important for us to identify where and how progress can be made, and when we can make it happen.

Finally, Madam Chair, you can be assured of our fullest support in this regard.

Thank you for giving me the floor.