Island countries call for joint work for energy efficiency at UN
27 Sep '06
3 min read
While voicing pride in the distinction, he added: “But we have been careful not to be carried away… so often it is this island paradox that conceals the diverse development challenges small island countries of the Pacific, like Vanuatu, face in today's world of globalization.”
The Foreign Minister of Fiji said his country is “a small island developing State with a highly vulnerable economy.” He pointed out that the country's economy is over 70 per cent dependent on export trade to earn foreign exchange and meet development needs.
The multilateral trading rules emanating from the World Trade Organization (WTO) “are not fair and equitable, given our developmental status, geography and size.”
He said proposals for change “have not effectively addressed the multiplicity of problems we are facing.” To correct this, he called on UN members to work “towards an early resumption of the suspended WTO talks.”
Eamon Courtenay, the Foreign Minister of Belize, said the WTO had worsened conditions for his country. “Since Doha,” he said, referring to the 'development round' of the trade talks, “a panel set up by the WTO decided that the European Union (EU) organization of its sugar market was incompatible with WTO rules. To solve that problem, Belizean sugar farmers now get paid less for the sugar exported to the EU. The WTO has made them worse off.”
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