Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

H.E. Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter (South Africa)
Chad on behalf of LDC Group
12 TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY-BUILDING

487.   On behalf of the Group of LDCs, I would also like to thank the Secretariat for the report that was presented to us on technical assistance activities and TRIPS related matters, and all WTO partners. 488.   The Member of the Secretariat underlined an important point: the idea of tailored assistance. I think this is an extremely important topic because we do in fact have specific needs and so assisting Members who have specific needs is crucial for understanding their priorities. That was scaled up and added to the e-TRIPS system. I have a few questions for him. 489.   The first has to do with the arrangement the Secretariat has put in place, for example to allow LDCs who are experiencing particular difficulties to familiarize themselves with the e-TRIPS systems. How do you intend to inform us about this online platform? You know that LDCs have difficulty accessing the WTO online systems and I imagine the same is true for e-TRIPS, so how can you ensure that LDCS will be able to use these online tools in an effective and efficient manner? Otherwise, these tools will not have any meaningful impact for us. 490.   Another question has to do with the activities of trilateral partners, for example, the WTO, WIPO and the WHO Secretariats. I am of the view that these activities also concern the Trade Ministry that deals with WTO matters, the Health Ministry, and the ministries of the Economy, Labour, the Digital Economy and Technology. We have focal points in our capitals for these three departments, so what is your plan regarding trilateral activities in terms of virtual participation of capitals? Are the Health, Trade and Digital Economy Ministries also invited to participate in virtual activities?

The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.
64. The Chair recalled that, at its July 2020 meeting, the Council had agreed to hold the annual review of technical cooperation at its next meeting. Thus, developed country Members had been requested to update information on their technical and financial cooperation activities relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. Other Members, which also provided technical cooperation were encouraged to share information on their activities. The Secretariat had issued a reminder. Intergovernmental organizations, observers to the Council and the WTO Secretariat had also been invited to provide information.
65. The Council had received information from: Japan, Switzerland, Australia, United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway. Since the circulation of the revised agenda, the Council had received further information from the European Union. These reports were being circulated under the new dedicated document series with the symbol IP/C/R/TC/[Member]/1 – where "R" stands for "Reports" and "TC" stands for "Technical Cooperation". The following intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) had also submitted updated information: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Health Organization (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). Their reports were being circulated in the same document series IP/C/R/TC/[IGO observer]/1. Information on the WTO Secretariat's own technical cooperation activities in the TRIPS area could be found in document . She invited Members to introduce their reports.
66. The representatives of the United States of America; the United Kingdom; Japan; Australia; Canada; the European Union; Bangladesh; Switzerland; Brazil; Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group; Mali; and South Africa took the floor.
67. The Chair invited the WTO Secretariat to present its report on technical cooperation activities.
68. The representative of the Secretariat took the floor.
69. The Chair invited the representatives of IGO observers to present their reports on technical cooperation activities.
70. The representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); World Health Organization (WHO); and the United National Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) took the floor.
71. The Chair invited Members to comment.
72. The representatives of Sri Lanka; Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group; and India took the floor.
73. The Chair thanked Members and IGO observers for the valuable information. As some information had been recently submitted and was available only in its original language, she would provide Members an opportunity to make further comments, at the next meeting.
74. The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.
IP/C/M/96, IP/C/M/96/Add.1