OPENING ADDRESS BY MR. TOM KITT T.D., MINISTER FOR TRADE, LABOUR AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS AT THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION STUDY TOUR, RUSSELL COURT HOTEL, MONDAY 19TH OCTOBER, 1998.

As Minister for Trade, I am very happy to come here today to meet with you and to assure you of Ireland's support of the WTO and of the Study Programme in which you are participating.

In my current capacity, and also in my previous capacity as Minister for Overseas Development, I have had the opportunity and pleasure of visiting some of your countries. I am glad that you all now have the chance to come and see Ireland first hand.

You are visiting Ireland at a time of economic prosperity within our country. Since the 1960s Ireland has moved from a protected economy to one of the most open, trade dependent countries in the world with trade accounting for over 140 per cent of our Gross National Product.

This has led to a situation where one job in four in our economy is directly dependent upon exports and when indirect influences are taken into account this rises to almost one job in two. From the late 1950s to the mid 1970s there was a gradual change in Ireland's outward-looking approach. By 1968, industrial employment had almost equalled employment in agriculture. Since 1960, the annual rate of growth in the value and volume of our exports has been very significant.

Of even more significance has been the rapid diversification of markets beyond the U.K. - to the Rest of Europe and to the U.S. and beyond - . Significant landmarks in the transition to the opening up of the economy were the Anglo Irish Free Trade Agreement of 1965 and our accession to the European Community in 1973.

During the course of today and during the rest of the week you will see how Ireland's National Trade Policy developed and is pursued within the European Union and the World Trade Organisation. You will also be briefed on the implementation of our national policy on trade and inward investment. During your stay you will be visiting companies representing just two of the many diverse sectors where Ireland and Irish exports are competing in the world today. I hope that you will find all this beneficial and that it will be of assistance to you when you return to your home countries to shape future trade policies.

Ireland is fully committed to participation in the World Trade Organisation and its various subsidiary bodies. Since my appointment as Minister for Trade, I have represented Ireland at the successful negotiations on Financial Services in December, 1997 and at the Second Ministerial Conference in Geneva in May of this year. As we embark on the preparatory stage of the build up to the New Round, it is vital that we acknowledge the benefits accruing to us all as a result of a more open, liberalised, rules-based multilateral trade regime. While much has already been achieved on trade liberalisation, we must also acknowledge that there is still plenty of scope for further reforms.

At a time of very significant economic crises in various parts of the globe, there is a more urgent challenge to commit ourselves to greater liberalisation and to avoid any drift back into more protectionist policies. Economies are becoming more and more interdependent as trade develops and it is impossible for individual economies, whether developed or developing, to prosper unless their markets remain open, facilitating the free flow of goods and services. The removal of such barriers is beneficial to all parties in the long term and is a major contributor to wealth and job creation.

A commitment to greater liberalisation is not without its challenges and I can readily recognise that for many developing countries WTO membership and participation can be a daunting process. That is why specific arrangements are built into the various WTO Agreements to give greater flexibilities for Developing Countries. It is important that in any negotiations within the WTO, there is an appropriate balance between the interests of all members to ensure that agreements are realistic and can be fully implemented.

In the context of the New Round, it is important that we address the concerns of all WTO members, particularly developing countries, in a sympathetic and constructive way to ensure that the benefits from greater liberalisation are spread among all economies. Your visit this week can contribute to this process. Hopefully we can learn from each other where our mutual interests lie and where the greatest challenges will be.

I hope that you are successful in achieving the aims of your visit this week and that you gain sufficient knowledge of Irish trade policy and practice.

I spoke about a balanced approach earlier on and I hope that your stay in Ireland will be sufficiently balanced to allow you an opportunity to enjoy some of the social and cultural activities for which Dublin is famous.