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

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1. Meeting date

2. Chairperson

H.E. Ambassador Dr. Walter Werner

3. Intervention by

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

4. Agenda item

11   TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING

5. Statement/summary of statement

314.   I refer to the submission by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to this Council on our technical cooperation and capacity building activities (IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.1). I would like to highlight a few elements of our technical cooperation programme during the reporting period. 315.   Policy coherence for local pharmaceutical production and access to medicines: Considering the cross-cutting nature of domestic pharmaceutical production and access to medicines, UNCTAD with the support of German International Cooperation (GIZ) in 2018 published the "Tool Box for Policy Coherence in Access to Medicines and Local Pharmaceutical Production". The Tool Box provides interested governments with an overview of policy tools to create a framework conducive to promoting local pharmaceutical production and access to medicines. It has been used in our technical cooperation activities, for instance in national consultations for Thailand on policy coherence in the pricing and procurement of essential medicines that was organized jointly with UNDP. 316.   African regional integration: UNCTAD has been actively supporting African countries in their efforts to promote regional trade integration. In 2018, we provided technical inputs to ongoing negotiations of a Tripartite free trade area made up of COMESA, the EAC and SADC. Our inputs were directed at Tripartite efforts to develop a regional IP regime. 317.   We work closely with the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to prepare Phase 2 negotiations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which concerns, inter alia, intellectual property. We are currently planning a project to assist in the implementation of Phase 1 of the AfCFTA by analysing non-tariff measures (NTMs) in AfCFTA Members' legislation. Under the same project, we also intend to build capacities of the African private sector and public research organizations to increase research and development collaborations, including with foreign investors. 318.   Investment and Antimicrobial resistance/AMR: Picking up on the ad hoc Expert Group Meeting on New Investment Models in Health-related R&D - The Case of Antibiotic Resistance, which we organized in 2017 and which was reported to this Council, we have continued our work on AMR from the investment perspective. In cooperation with WHO, we organized, as part of the UNCTAD World Investment Forum this year, a multi-stakeholder discussion on "Fostering Investment in the Development of New Antibacterial Treatments". The objective of this meeting was to discuss ways of increasing private sector involvement in AMR-related R&D. UNCTAD and WHO are currently discussing follow-up.

6. Documents referred to in intervention

7. Conclusion

The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.

8. Summary of the agenda item (if available)

44.   The Chair recalled that in June 2018, the Council had agreed to hold the annual review of technical cooperation at the November meeting. 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 who also made available technical cooperation were encouraged to share information on these activities. The Secretariat had issued an airgram on 5 July 2018 reminding Members of this request. Intergovernmental organizations observers to the Council and the Secretariat had also been invited to provide information.
45.   The Council had received information from the following developed country Members: United States of America, Switzerland, Australia, Japan and Canada. Their reports had been circulated in document IP/C/W/647 and addenda. Shortly before the meeting, the Council had also received the reports from New Zealand, as well as from the European Union and some of its member States, namely Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Advance copies of both reports had been made available as room documents on documents online and would also be circulated as addenda to document IP/C/W/647.
46.   The following intergovernmental organizations had also submitted updated information: the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Health Organization (WHO), World Customs Organization (WCO), African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Their reports had been circulated in document IP/C/W/644/Rev.1 and addenda. Since the circulation of the revised draft agenda, information had also been received from UPOV, which would be made available shortly.
47.   Updated information on the Secretariat's own technical cooperation activities in the TRIPS area could be found in document IP/C/W/645.
48.   The representatives from Canada, Australia, Japan, the United States of America, Norway, the European Union, the Secretariat, the WHO, the GCC, UNCTAD, WIPO and ARIPO took the floor.
49.   The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.

9. Document symbol and date of distribution

IP/C/M/90, IP/C/M/90/Add.1
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