71. The representative of Uganda said that, in response to the TRIPS Council decision on the Extension of the Transition Period under Article 66:1 for LDC Members, Uganda had identified in 2007 its priority needs for technical and financial cooperation necessary for the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. This had been followed by the development of a comprehensive programme referred to as the Uganda Trade and Intellectual Property Programme (UTIP) in 2008. This programme had been circulated to developed country Members in the same year. Uganda was glad to note that some countries had responded positively to it. Currently, Uganda was implementing two activities under its cluster 1, namely the development of intellectual property policy and legislative review, with funding from the European Communities under the BizClim and TradeCom projects, for which Uganda was grateful.
72. However, Uganda was concerned at the slow speed at which it was receiving technical and capacity building in this area. Only two activities were currently being funded under cluster 1. Uganda had identified four major clusters. Given this speed, it was apparent that it would not be possible for Uganda to implement the TRIPS Agreement in the time-frame given by the WTO. The Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) would be updated in 2009 and some activities identified under the UTIP would be incorporated into the revised version. However, this did not guarantee that these activities would be fully funded within the time period expected since the disbursement of funds under the Enhanced Integrated Framework (ElF) had also been very slow. She therefore requested that developed country Members examine the programme which had been presented and help Uganda implement it in good time and in a coordinated manner.
