172. The Chairman recalled that the Council had agreed at its meeting in June to focus on technical cooperation at the present meeting. In preparation for this annual review, developed country Members had once more been requested to update information on their technical and financial cooperation activities relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement in time for this meeting. Other Members who also had made available technical cooperation were encouraged to share information on these activities if they so wished. The Secretariat had issued on 22 August an airgram WTO/AIR/2156 reminding Members of this request. In addition, intergovernmental organizations observers to the Council as well as the WTO Secretariat had been invited to provide information.
173. To date, the Council had received information from the following developed country Members: Japan; the Czech Republic; the United States; Norway; Switzerland; the European Communities and the following member States: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The resulting documentation concerning the technical cooperation activities of developed country Members was being circulated in document IP/C/W/408 and addenda. So far the Council had obtained updated information from the following intergovernmental organizations: the OECD, the IMF, the FAO and UPOV. This information was being circulated in documents IP/C/W/407 and addenda. Updated information on the WTO Secretariat's technical cooperation activities in the TRIPS area was available in document IP/C/W/406.
174. The Chairman urged those Members that had not yet provided updated information to do so, and said that he intended to provide an opportunity, also at the Council's next meeting, for Members to make comments on the information submitted for this meeting that they might not yet have been able to study.
