BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

HIS Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, yesterday delivered his opening statement at the 7th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MoFAT) announced by press release yesterday.

While he emphasised the need to strengthen the WTO in order to bring about an early and successful conclusion of the Doha Round, HRH Prince Mohamed also spoke on the principles, rules and decision-making approach of the organisation , which help small countries ensure that things are done fairly and their voices heard, the statement said.

In his speech, HRH Prince Mohamed praised the WTO for its role. "I know there are some difficult things to consider and a lot of very hard problems, especially, of course, the need to get the Doha Round completed.

"I don't underestimate any of this but, for a fairly small economy like ours, I can definitely say that the past four years have been positive ones. And we have had excellent help from this organisation, both directly and indirectly," he said.

HRH Prince Mohamed also highlighted Brunei's focus on a key common goal of Asean member states.

"This is to work with our other partners in our region and try to achieve a level of regional integration by 2015.

"There are 10 of us involved and we face a difficult job together. But the fact that nine of us are members of the Organisation (WTO) is a great advantage and we hope that very soon the Lao People's Democratic Republic will also become a full member," he said.

The Brunei Times