H.E. Ambassador Dr Lansana GBERIE

Bangladesh

10 FOLLOW-UP TO THE TWENTIETH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT

170.   Bangladesh aligns with the statement delivered on behalf the LDC Group. I deliver this statement at national capacity. My delegation thanks the Secretariat, particularly the team of the IP Division and ITTC, for organizing the annual Workshop on the implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement from 14 to 15 March 2023. This was neatly designed with the most relevant sessions and speakers. 171.   During the time of pandemic, with travel restrictions and other sanitary measures in place, we could not come to Geneva in person. The Workshop provides an opportunity for participants, from both the LDCs and developed countries, to meet each other in Geneva. This is truly a good opportunity to learn from each other. 172.   The capital based LDC colleagues provided feedback through a voluntary survey. The information shared by the LDCs may be helpful for the Secretariat to know the priorities of the LDCs and design future technical assistance programmes in this regard. My delegation requests the Secretariat to compile the list of technologies identified by the LDCs in the Workshop and report to the next meeting of the Council for TRIPS. 173.   My delegation has tentatively prioritized the following sectors for technology transfer to my country:  Agriculture and Food;  Environment and Climate Change;  Public Health and Pharmaceuticals;  Information and Communication Technology (ICT), e-commerce;  Construction/Infrastructure/Transport;  Manufacturing and Mining. 174.   Bangladesh hopes that developed country Members will be able to initiate targeted activities and projects to transfer specific technologies in those specific priority areas in my country. My delegation thanks the developed country Members for their annual reports under TRIPS Article 66.2 and we are happy that most of the 2022 reports are following the format suggested by the LDC Group. My delegation acknowledges the valuable benefits generated by the projects presented by the developed country delegates in the Workshop. 175.   We expect that the annual reports should specify the beneficiary LDCs and identify the specific technology that has been transferred. There is also a mixture of technical assistance (under Article 67) initiatives like legal training and drafting. We request the reporting countries to kindly share with the LDCs the final project evaluation report. This is a necessary tool for evaluating the projects related to capacity building. In conclusion, the delegation of Bangladesh strongly suggests the Secretariat to continue to organise this annual Workshop in the future.

48. The Council took note of the statements made.

43. The Chair recalled that the Council had conducted the Twentieth Annual Review under Paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement at its meeting in October 2022. At that meeting delegations from developed country Members had briefly presented the updated reports they had submitted under Article 66.2, and the Council had agreed that it would revert to the item at the present meeting to permit continued consideration of the submitted material. He also recalled that, in July 2020, the LDC Group had circulated a new submission entitled "Proposed New Template for Annual Reporting under Article 66.2 of the Agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights" in document .
44. In order to give LDCs more time to absorb the information provided by developed country Members in their reports, and to ensure that these reports were available in the working languages of the WTO, the Secretariat had once again organized a "Workshop on the Implementation of the Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement" which had taken place on 14-15 March 2023, immediately preceding the meeting. The Chair indicated that a number of capital-based delegates who had participated in that Workshop were present at the meeting.
45. The Chair asked the Secretariat to report on this Workshop.
46. A representative of the Secretariat took the floor.
47. The representatives of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group; Tanzania, on behalf of the African Group; Sierra Leone; the United Kingdom; Nepal; Benin; Bangladesh; Switzerland; Haiti; Mali; the United States of America; the European Union; Australia; Japan; Canada; Norway; Malawi; and Sudan took the floor.
48. The Council took note of the statements made.

IP/C/M/107, IP/C/M/107/Add.1