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

Ambassador Dacio Castillo (Honduras)
K TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING
142. The representative of Switzerland expressed his appreciation for the Secretariat's efforts to facilitate the process under Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement and support for the LDC needs assessment process. Switzerland had participated in the regional workshop for Asian, Pacific and Caribbean Countries organized by the WTO in the second half of 2010 in Dakar, as one means of assisting and supporting the LDC needs assessment process. It had reported to the Council after that workshop that bilateral contacts between Bangladesh and Switzerland had taken place on the occasion of that workshop. As a result of those continuing contacts, a technical co-operation project had been agreed between the two countries, commencing with an inception mission the following week. This was intended to be a technical co-operation project based on the priority needs assessment submitted by Bangladesh to the Council. It was a project that would span two years and amounted to financial support of some CHF 1 million. Switzerland was looking forward to the implementation of the project in partnership with Bangladesh and looked forward to the support of its authorities. His delegation would update the Council with further details and relevant developments with regard to the progress of the project in future meetings.
IP/C/M/69