HONG KONG, Dec. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- All the WTO members should work on with sincerity to reduce the economic vulnerabilities of the small nations, said Charles Savarin, minister for foreign affairs, trade, labor and public services of the Commonwealth of Dominica here Saturday.

    Speaking at the ongoing Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, the official said unlike many countries, small vulnerable economies like Dominica face many constrains and disadvantages in producing goods and services competitive enough in the international market.

    He said it is imperative that if the development dimension is to have any real meaning in this round of negotiations, then specific, concrete and workable responses must be implemented to address the special vulnerabilities of these countries to ensure they are fully integrated into the multilateral trading system.

    He said the current mechanism that is employed in the multilateral trading system is far from being enough to help reduce vulnerabilities in their economies.

    Dominica welcomes all offers of development assistance, whether technical or financial, adding that in that regard the Aid for Trade initiative is a step in the right direction.

    The official also urged all members to exert more efforts and determination to fulfill the mandate to strengthen and make more precise, effective and operational all special and different treatment provisions in the WTO agreements.

    He said, "At the conclusion of this meeting we should be able to say without any reservations that the development aspirations of developing countries and more particularly the small, vulnerable economies, the least developed countries and landlocked countries have been advanced." Enditem