Chairman, distinguished delegates,

It is appropriate that the first Ministerial conference of the WTO should be held here in Singapore, where free trade has brought both success and prosperity. As another small island country heavily dependent on foreign trade we attach great importance to the work of the WTO. The first two years of the WTO have indeed shown that the organisation will be able to live up to the expectations.

The mandate of the WTO as a rules based body is clearly defined. The focus of the organisation is and should remain the defining and the implementation of trade rules. We have, however, to acknowledge that the trade environment is rapidly changing and the organisation has to evolve accordingly. A case in point is investment. The rise in foreign direct investment has blurred the dividing line between trade and investment. This is clearly an issue that has to be addressed and incorporated into the multilateral trading system. Other areas where WTO work could be expanded include trade and competition and trade facilitation.

The Uruguay Round can not be said to be truly completed until we have dealt with all unfinished business. In negotiations on maritime transport Iceland scheduled firm and liberal commitments as a sign of the importance we attach to the sector. On Telecommunications we have also tabled one of the most liberal offers to date and hope for results in the near future. Our participation in talks on financial services has been less active up to now but in practice we have adopted a liberal stance in this area and this will be reflected in our position. At the moment we are observers in the GPA but full participation is imminent. In the field of intellenctual property we have significantly added to the areas of protection and strengthened our international commitments.

In the preparations for this Ministerial Conference proposals were made to launch negotiations on industrial tariffs. Unfortunately no agreement on this was reached. Such negotiations would have provided an opportunity to further liberalise trade in fisheries products. Compared to the bulk of industrial products tariffs are still high in the fisheries sector and a number of other barriers to trade still exist.

Iceland}s economy is based on the exploitation of natural resources and the direct economic importance of a clean environment is therefore even more readily apparent to us than to others. Protection of the environment is a priority issue and an issue that has to be dealt with through international cooperation. The work in the Committee on Trade and the Environment has brought out the complexities of environmental issues but also demonstrated that trade liberalisation and the protection of the environment are not only compatible but mutually reinforcing. The basis has been laid and I am optimistic that we will reach a consensus on solutions ensuring both free trade and respect for the environment.