The statement was delivered to the plenary by Maqbool Ali Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry, for the Sultanate of Oman, which only recently became a member and is attending a ministerial meeting for the first time. In it, he charges that the multilateral trading system "is not wholly fair and equitable for developing countries. The system has its inequities," Sultan continued:

"As the representative of a country which recently completed its accession, let me say candidly that the accession process is introducing further inequities. That was our experience when we were made to undertake commitments far in excess of those undertaken by countries at a comparable or higher level of industrialization and economic development. Oman was also made to join the plurilateral agreements which have not been accepted by a large majority of WTO members, including some developed countries."

As a result of this treatment at the hands of WTO, Sultan added, "Oman should neither be asked nor expected to make any further market access commitments on agriculture, industrial products and services. We have paid our price, and should not be asked to pay a price again."

There is no reason to doubt the accuracy of Sultan's charges, and nobody at the WTO has come forward to challenge them. And they are disturbing in the extreme. A theme that has been struck repeatedly at the meeting here in Doha is the need for the WTO to provide more assistance to developing countries in general and the least developed countries in particular. Certainly nobody is saying out loud that the developing countries should be asked to bear heavier burdens than the rich countries.

Nor is anybody advocating publicly that incoming members of the WTO be forced to accept agreements that existing members have rejected. That is discrimination plain and simple, but that is what Oman is alleging. These charges make it all the more difficult for the WTO to promote the new round of trade talks that it hopes to launch here as the "development round." The organization's actions, as described by Sultan, speak so loudly that its words will surely be drowned out.

As for Oman's charges, it now is the responsibility of WTO's leadership to investigate them, and, if they can be confirmed, take action to remedy the situation. Accession to the organization should be a proud moment in a country's history, not a cause for recriminations or charges of unfair treatment.

In concluding his remarks to the plenary, Sultan noted that Oman "strongly supports the objectives of the WTO and earnestly hopes that this conference would result in further strengthening the WTO for the benefit of all its members."

If his speaking out leads to some honest self-examination by the WTO and an effort to correct what appear to be glaring abuses, then he will have made a significant contribution to that strengthening all by himself, and the entire global trade regime will be the beneficiary.