President Ma Ying-jeou signed the instrument of accession to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) at the Taipei Guest House on the morning of June 8. Premier Liu Chao-shiuan, Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng, Foreign Minister Francisco H. L. Ou, Economics Minister Yiin Chii-ming, and Public Construction Commission Minister Fan Liang-shiow were present at the ceremony, along with important local and foreign dignitaries and representatives of foreign trade offices in Taiwan.
President Ma delivered remarks after signing the instrument of accession. The president said that WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy and Chairman Nicholas Niggli of the Committee on Government Procurement provided considerable assistance during the course of Taiwan's efforts to join the GPA and that he would like to express his deepest gratitude to them for their help.
The president said that joining the GPA has been an extremely important objective of Taiwan since the nation became a member of the WTO in January 2002. While consultations were completed in that year, Taiwan over the following six years was unable to join the GPA due to the situation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, something the president said was extremely regrettable.
After taking office on May 20 last year, the president said he was determined to promote flexible diplomacy and especially hoped to strengthen Taiwan's participation in multilateral treaties. Therefore, after overcoming countless hurdles and boosting coordination and communication with the WTO, the WTO's Government Procurement Committee on December 15 of last year unanimously approved Taiwan's accession to the GPA. The government earlier this year forwarded related documents to the Legislative Yuan and the legislature completed legislative procedures on May 15. The president said he would like to especially thank Legislative Yuan President Wang and all lawmakers for providing their assistance in this regard.
Upon becoming a formal party to the GPA, Taiwan, just like the other signatories, will open its markets to other nations for government procurement opportunities, he said. The president added that presently Taiwan is promoting the i-Taiwan 12 Projects, which are expected to provide billions of US dollars of business opportunities, and the foreign representatives present at today's ceremony are no doubt excited about the possibilities. Meanwhile, he said that statistics compiled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) show that Taiwan firms will be able to compete for US$960 billion of government procurement opportunities in other countries. Therefore, the MOEA has asked its officials stationed overseas to collect information on government procurement projects in those respective nations in order to assist local firms in expanding overseas business opportunities. This type of cross-border activity will be beneficial to all signatories, the president said.
President Ma commented that as Taiwan is an island economy, international trade plays an extremely important role for the nation. The president remarked that the ROC's accession to the GPA amidst the tumult of a global financial crisis and economic recession is very much in line with the call by the G20 summit to prevent protectionism from re-emerging. He said that countries throughout the world should promote trade and economic liberalization.
In addition to becoming a signatory to the GPA, the ROC (Taiwan) on May 21 acceded as a sponsoring member of the Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation. In the future, Taiwan will work with other sponsoring members in promoting Aid for Trade, the purpose of which is to assist developing countries in establishing an ability to engage in trade, the president said. This initiative will help developing countries in their economic development, he added.
President Ma expressed the ROC's invention to act as a responsible stakeholder within the international community. While many nations have not recognized us and it has been difficult for us to take part in many international organizations, the ROC Constitution nevertheless mandates that the nation respect treaties and the UN charter. Therefore, the government will gradually examine international treaties that are related to us and look at various ways of participating, including legislating the content of the treaties here. For instance, he said, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is one treaty the ROC is closely examining. The ROC is determined to be a responsible member of the international community and a constructive international citizen, the president said. Lastly, President Ma expressed his hope that everyone will work together with the ROC in working to achieve the objectives of the GPA.