I would like to start by expressing my delegation’s disappointment in the fact that the Cancún meetings could not reach consensus on the draft of the Ministerial Declaration. We hope this setback will not undermine the determination of Members to progressively achieve higher levels of liberalization in the services sector. We believe a more open trading environment to be a key factor in the eventual recovery of the global economy. The importance of the services trade in terms of its contribution to the economic growth of all WTO Members, and especially to developing countries, cannot be emphasized enough. This is evident from papers submitted recently by a number of WTO Members and from work done by other respected international organizations, such as the OECD and UNCTAD. We would certainly not want to see, therefore, any other issues getting in the way of progress in the sevices negotiations. Now it is essential that the pace of services negotiations be stepped up in order to meet the deadlines set by the Doha agenda.