Address to the GATT Ministerial Meeting

Barber B. Conable, President of the World Bank and International Finance Corporation addressed the topic of the importance to development of trade and the need for a full role for developing countries in the negotiations. The latest general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) statistics show that export earnings of developing nations fell by 5.5 percent last year, while their imports fell by 6.5 percent in value terms. New GATT negotiations must be launched to help create a more certain outlook for trade and, indeed, for the world economy. He discusses that export development in the developing countries is not possible without generation of the skills the modern market and modern technology require, and the transfer of these skills becomes the cutting edge of education. Restoration of economic growth in the developing countries will benefit the export industries of the developed countries. The Bank attaches great importance to securing a more open trading environment. The negotiations should include discussion of all issues of importance to international trade between developed and developing countries, and they should also increase opportunities for trade among developing countries themselves