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Opening Statement
by Mr Kim Hak-Su
Executive Secretary of ESCAP

Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this Regional Seminar on liberalization of Maritime Transport Services under WTO GATS. I am particularly happy to note that this activity, which has been financed by the Government of Japan, has generated significant interest throughout the ESCAP region. In this conference hall today, we have brought together policy makers, academics and industry stakeholders to deliberate upon important issues relating to liberalization of maritime services under the purview of the World Trade Organization (WTO), post Doha.

The maritime transport industry contributes greatly to international trade and economic development in the ESCAP region. Over 90% of international world trade moves by sea. The maritime transport industry provides not only an important service to trade, it is also an important trade in service for ESCAP member countries.

We are all aware that in some areas of maritime transport this region provides a lead to the rest of the world. ESCAP member countries operate more than 40% of the world's shipping fleet, which includes nine of the world's top twenty container shipping operators. At the same time about 60% of the world's seafarers are supplied by countries in the ESCAP region. Over the past years, the natural sea routes, which endow our region, have been substantially enhanced through the construction and expansion of a network of ports. Particularly in the container sector, Asian ports swept the top five positions in the world container through put for 2001.

It must, however, be borne in mind that countries in the ESCAP region are at different stages of economic development and the success stories in the maritime sector are not spread uniformly across the region.

Since accepting the role of leadership at ESCAP I have been working with the secretariat staff and member governments to identify areas where ESCAP can have the most tangible impact and determine ways of focusing our resources where they are most needed. We have now formulated three overriding themes: Reducing poverty, Managing globalization, and Emerging social issues.

This workshop falls within the theme of globalization and seeks to assist countries in integrating effectively into the global economy on a fair and equitable basis. The transition from a controlled trade regime to an open trade regime is by no means smooth and free of problems. Policy decisions on the scope, sequencing, timing and pace of implementation of policies are as crucial as they are complex. Following the successful Ministerial meeting in Doha, negotiations within the World Trade Organization framework on General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) are scheduled to take place within the next few years. These negotiations could have a substantial impact on the provision of maritime services and competition within the sector.

With this in mind, two divisions of the secretariat, Transport, Communications, Tourism and Infrastructure Development Division and International Trade and Industry Division have collaborated in implementing a project to create awareness of the implication of future negotiation on GATS on ESCAP member countries and to exchange information and experiences between countries on their preparation for GATS negotiations. The project also seeks to identify a network of institutions /focal points to support negotiating delegations to GATS.

I am very happy to see that the project has been implemented in close collaboration with WTO and UNCTAD. Resource persons from these organizations will provide us with a deeper understanding of the negotiating processes of the WTO, the implications of further liberalization of the maritime sector, and the positions being adopted by countries outside the ESCAP region. OECD will also share with us the position of OECD countries and their experiences in effective networking and preparation for WTO negotiations.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The development of proactive policies and active participation in the formulation of multilateral rules of the WTO, compliance with such rules and implementation require a sound understanding of the WTO architecture, its processes and the implication of further liberalization.  I hope all of you make use of this forum to share your diverse experiences and discuss issues of mutual concern. Being the first forum of its kind where developing and developed countries in the ESCAP region could come together to discuss liberalization of maritime transport, I hope the seminar would be a catalyst to better networking and a continuation of discussion between countries beyond this seminar.

I look forward to the outcome of your deliberations and wish you a rewarding seminar.