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

H.E. Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter
11 TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING

255.   We wish to thank the Secretariat for its ongoing commitment to assist developing countries to make maximum use of the multilateral system. Due to COVID-19 the cooperation and capacity building activities may have been affected as reported by ITTC in its briefing to the CBFA. Face-to-face training in most cases have been postponed until the next financial year while some online activities have taken place. South Africa attaches importance to the use of the online mode during this time to continue technical cooperation and capacity building. Technical assistance and capacity-building must always respond to Members' needs, at this time many Members may have a need for technical assistance and capacity building to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of the Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan 2020 – 2021 (WT/COMTD/W/248/Rev.1), emphasis has been placed on improving eLearning programmes. Expanding access to materials is also envisaged under the plan, this would be valuable for the public at large.

The Council took note of the statements made.
38.   The Chair said that the Council had regularly conducted annual reviews of technical cooperation and capacity building activities at its end of the year meeting. These reviews were based on reports submitted by developed country Members, international organizations and the WTO Secretariat. She invited the Secretariat to recall the usual arrangements for such reviews.
39.   The representative of the Secretariat took the floor.
40.   The representatives of Bangladesh and South Africa took the floor. The representative of Nigeria requested that her statement be included in the record of the meeting.
41.   The Chair proposed to proceed with the customary arrangements and conduct the next review during the next Council meeting, scheduled to take place in October 2020. The documentation provided on this topic was usually quite extensive. In order to ensure a streamlined and systematic approach to the management of this documentation, she recommended the use of the e-TRIPS Submissions System, which allowed the convenient preparation of such submissions, both in capital and at the missions in Geneva. The Secretariat would be pleased to provide informal support and background to interested delegations.
42.   The Council agreed to proceed with the usual arrangements and undertake the next review on technical assistance and capacity building at the October 2020 meeting.
43.   The Chair invited the Secretariat to announce the new edition of the Trilateral Study on Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation.
44.   The representative of the Secretariat took the floor.
45.   The representatives of Chile; Zimbabwe; Tanzania, on behalf of the LDC Group; the World Health Organization (WHO); and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) took the floor.
46.   The Council took note of the statements made.
IP/C/M/95, IP/C/M/95/Add.1