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Welcome
delegations.
Let
me begin by expressing my deep sense of shock, sadness and outrage at
the appalling attacks in the United States on 11 September, and
the senseless loss of so many innocent lives. As someone has said, all
mankind was diminished by these tragic events, and I am sure I speak
for all of us in the General Council in extending our warmest
sympathies to the US delegation.
I
have convened this meeting today so that delegations may be fully
briefed at this stage both as to the process that I have been
following over the past two weeks, and the overall status of the
discussions. I had indicated to you at our meeting at the end of July
that the process in this final phase must be conducted on several
broad fronts in order that we may register the progress that necessary
in all of our interests. At the same time, I had suggested that all
work must be conducted with full respect for transparency and
non-discrimination. That essentially is the process that has been
undertaken over the past few weeks, both by myself and the
Director-General and his Deputies acting at my request.
As
I announced to you in July, I have been consulting with a large number
of delegations, both individually and in small groups, to try to make
progress in bridging differences in position in key areas. I have been
pleased that delegations have engaged frankly with me in an effort to
find common ground on the main elements of the package we want to send
to Ministers. I think very useful progress has been made towards a
clearer understanding of what we can realistically hope to recommend
to Ministers, and what the remaining problem areas are.
The
major conclusion that I have drawn from my consultations is that there
are small but very encouraging signs of flexibility among delegations,
and an understanding of the limits of each other's positions. While I
will continue to meet with delegations to seek their guidance over the
coming days, I would also request any delegations who have not met
with me yet, and who wish to do so, to call me or the Secretariat to
arrange a meeting.
In
addition to these meetings that I have been holding, I have also
requested the Director-General and his colleagues in the Secretariat
to assist in the process by consulting on two specific areas, namely
agriculture and implementation. The aim of all of these meetings is
essentially to distil the product of our discussions over the past
several months into concrete proposals for recommendation to
Ministers. On the basis of these discussions, I intend to circulate a
draft text of a Ministerial Declaration for your consideration by the
end of next week.
That
text will be the starting-point for further, more focused discussion
on the basis of which it can be finalized into a balanced package that
is broadly acceptable to all. I hope we will be able to make a start
towards that goal in earnest at the beginning of next month, and be
able to complete that process here in Geneva by the end of October. In
doing so, the urgency of our task will have to be uppermost in our
minds, as well as the recognition that all that we collectively pursue
in this organization is key to the further stability and security and
prosperity of all of our nations.
Let
me now turn briefly to the question of implementation. This is an area
on which, despite its obvious and widely-recognized importance, there
has been little agreement so far on how to handle the various issues
that have been raised. However, I must note that here too there appear
to be promising signs of possible agreement in key areas of interest
to developing countries. I have requested Deputy Director-General, Mr.
Rodriguez, to pursue consultations on my behalf with the aim of
reaching concrete and positive understandings for the consideration of
Members at the General Council's Special Session on Implementation,
which has been scheduled for 3 October. In pursuing his
consultations, Mr. Rodriguez will be taking into account the work that
is under way in subsidiary bodies on the implementation issues
referred to them or to their Chairpersons. Reports from all of these
bodies or their chairs will be in circulation by the end of next week.
I
should like to add that we will endeavour to circulate a possible text
on Implementation at around the same time as the draft Ministerial
text. In any event, I will not begin consultations based on the draft
Ministerial text until the possible results on implementation have
become clearer.
In
this connection, I note that under the rules of procedure for meetings
of the General Council, documents or proposed decisions for action
relating to items on the agenda at a formal meeting have to be
circulated at least 10 days prior to that meeting. However, given that
informal discussions on implementation are likely to be pursued
intensively between now and the Special Session on 3 October, and
the overarching importance of this issue, I should like to seek your
indulgence in waiving the 10-day rule for this meeting. Of course,
every effort will be made to keep delegations informed about
developments before proposing that any action be taken at the formal
meeting.
With
these brief remarks, I should like to offer the floor now to the
Director-General to say a few words relating to the recent tragic
events. |
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