171. The representative of Egypt, speaking on behalf of the African Group, said that the African Group looked forward to the effective implementation of the obligation on developed country Members to provide incentives to enterprises and institutions within their territories, that could achieve effective technology transfer to LDCs, in accordance with Article 66.2. Indeed, this obligation on developed country Members flowed directly from the objectives of the TRIPS Agreement enshrined in Article 7. In pursuance of this goal, the African Group believed that the establishment of a monitoring mechanism to review situations where enterprises and institutions within developed country Members had provided technology transfer to LDCs was an effective means of quantifying the impact. Ultimately, the results of such incentives and their effectiveness at creating a viable technological base in the LDCs should be measured against this monitoring mechanism to establish whether or not the objectives of the TRIPS Agreement were being met. The African Group sought an implementation of the TRIPS Agreement that promoted innovation in pertinent technologies for LDCs. Finally, he called for the provision of financial and technical assistance to all LDCs for their needs assessments and to support their ability to develop capacities for implementing the TRIPS Agreement.
