Thank you very much Minister Gonzalez, on behalf of all my colleagues; I would like to thank you and the Uruguayan Government for hosting this year's meeting here in Punta del Este. As Minister Gonzalez indicated in his comments, it's quite a historic meeting, the 22^nd Meeting of the Cairns Group, marking the fifteenth anniversary since the formation of the Cairns Group at the beginning of the Uruguay Round it is very significant in that it is taking place at a time when we are expecting - in 65 days - to launch a round of multilateral trade negotiations in Doha that will have as one of its central elements significant reform prospects and an ambitious agenda as far as agriculture reform is concerned.

So it has been a very productive meeting and it has been participated in not just by the members of the Cairns Group but also a very strong representative group of our Farm Leaders, representing Cairns Group countries. We thank them for their support and maintaining the focus on the agenda as they did from the private sector. Prior to coming to this press conference, basically we urged each other to keep the agenda moving forward over the next 65 days to ensure that we maintain the momentum that is going to be needed.

During the meeting, we also had the honour of having guests from the United States of America, Ambassador Bob Zoellick from the USTR and Secretary Ann Veneman from the USDA, and you've met on the stage Deputy USTR Ambassador Allen Johnson. We had a very frank and fruitful discussion with our colleagues from the US yesterday. Then yesterday afternoon we had Minister Nicholas Biwott, the Trade Minister from Kenya, discussing issues of concern to developing countries revolving around agricultural trade liberalisation reforms and the sort of  issues that he and his country are looking for to be addressed in the process that we are going to have to work through on the  pathway to a successful launch in Doha.

Ladies and gentlemen, as you've seen from our communiqué, we've maintained a very, very strong approach to the key elements that we want to see addressed in this round and the position that Cairns Group has always taken. Those five elements revolve around the three pillars that we want to see addressed as far as the reform in general is concerned. In our discussions we've recognised the difficult circumstances that continue to develop. Today we see and are deeply concerned that six years after the Uruguay Round ended, total OECD support for agriculture is currently running at US$1 billion a day, that's US$1 billion worth of distortion in the agricultural markets in the world. They are the reasons that we, the group of fair trading agricultural producing nations, feel so strongly about reform, it is also the reason why our farm leaders work with us as they have during the course of this meeting and pursued those reforms.

There's going to be a very challenging period ahead between now and the meeting in Doha. There's a lot of work to be done, there's a lot of work to be done by all the Ministers sitting at this table, collectively and individually. We've charged each other with the responsibility of ensuring that an ambitious and specific mandate is achieved at the launch of the round at Doha as far as agricultural reform is concerned. It is vitally important.

It was interesting to note some of the comments over the last couple of days and not just from Members of the Cairns Group but from some of our guests during the course of the discussions, that without agriculture there may well not be a launch of a round and, that it is fundamental to the launch of the round. This was indicated by Cairns Group Ministers and the USTR Ambassador Zoellick. This was stressed at a meeting in Mexico City last week as well.

So we move forward from this meeting in Punta del Este as strong and as unified as ever and committed to the task of achieving the reform that we have been pursuing for fifteen years now, since the launch of the Uruguay Round and the formation of the Cairns Group. Mandated negotiations have started within the Committee on Agriculture in Geneva, the Article 20 negotiations. Our ambitions go far beyond Article 20; that's the challenge that we have set ourselves and that's the challenge that we will succeed in achieving in the weeks and months ahead and certainly beyond the launch of the round as we participate in those crucial negotiations.

Again, if I would like to thank Minister González and the Uruguayan Government for hosting this meeting here this year. It has been critical and quite enjoyable in that there was a little bit of reminiscing what took place fifteen years ago and certainly what drove the original countries to form the Cairns Group. A lot of those circumstances in one form or another still exist and are still driving the Cairns Group today. We are just as strong, and the solidarity amongst the member countries is just as strong as it has been in the past, as we move forward to achieve our goals in Doha and beyond.

Thank you very much.

• Communique - 22nd Ministerial Meeting, Punta del Este, Uruguay, 3-5 September 2001