Assembly/AU/Decl.1 (VI) Page 1 DECLARATION ON THE OUTCOME OF THE 6TH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE HELD IN HONG KONG, CHINA, 13 - 18 DECEMBER, 2005 We, the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the African Union, meeting at the 6th Ordinary Session of our Assembly in Khartoum, Sudan on 23rd – 24th January 2006; Convinced that a multilateral trade system based on fair and equitable rules is crucial for the attainment of rapid and sustained economic growth and development, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); Recalling the commitment made in November 2001 in the Doha Declaration by WTO Members to place the needs and interests of developing countries at the heart of the Doha Work Programme; Recognizing that a faithful and speedy implementation of the Doha Work Programme presents a good opportunity for our countries to be effectively integrated into the global economy and to have a fair share of global trade, which is growing at an unprecedented rate; Recalling the Cairo Declaration and the Cairo Road Map on the Doha Work Programme, which we endorsed at the 5th Ordinary Session of our Assembly; Taking Note of the Arusha Development Benchmarks for the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference adopted by the African Union Trade Ministers at the 2nd Extra-Ordinary Session of their Conference held in Arusha, Tanzania on 22-24 November 2005; and Also Taking Note of the Report of the AU Commission on the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong, China from 13th to 18th December 2005; 1. COMMEND our Member States and African negotiators, especially the African Group in Geneva, for the tremendous efforts they deployed prior to and in Hong Kong towards safeguarding Africa’s interests in the negotiations on the Doha Work Programme; 2. EXPRESS OUR DEEP CONCERN and disappointment at the limited progress achieved in Hong Kong on major issues of interest to Africa; 3. WELCOME the commitment contained in the Declaration of the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference to complete the Doha Work Programme fully and to conclude the negotiations launched at Doha successfully in 2006; 4. REAFFIRM our commitment to a successful completion of the Doha Development Round and call on the international community, especially