Ambassador Al-Otaibi (Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia) and Ambassador Alfredo Suescum (Panama)

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

12 TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY-BUILDING

317. The UNCTAD Secretariat through its Intellectual Property Unit has been implementing a work programme on the development dimension of intellectual property rights. The work programme responds to the request by member States at the UNCTAD Ministerial Conference in Doha as well as to intergovernmental requests under the WIPO Development Agenda, and the World Health Assemblies' Resolution on a Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property. In implementing the work programme, UNCTAD undertakes research and analysis, responds to requests for technical assistance and advises on policy options on the interface between investment, trade and intellectual property. 318. First, in the area of research and policy analysis, UNCTAD is currently examining the policy framework to promote the production of biosimilars in developing countries. UNCTAD is also compiling key jurisprudence in intellectual property rights from major jurisdictions in the world as an important technical input in informing the management of the interface between IP rights and development. In the area of technical assistance, UNCTAD conducts activities in the integrated areas of investment, trade and intellectual property. Technical assistance is provided on a request basis and funded by donor governments and institutions. The main focus of the technical assistance activities has been to assist developing countries and LDCs to establish domestic IP regimes that facilitate increased access to affordable medicines and where feasible to create local or regional pharmaceutical production and supply capacity in cooperation with investors. 319. The technical assistance in this area is implemented with the financial support of the Government of Germany and originally the Government of the United Kingdom. Funded by the German International Cooperation (GIZ), UNCTAD is also examining the coherence of policies in developing countries and regions in respect of health, trade and industrial development. The overall objective of this exercise is to assist developing countries or regions in building capacity to promote policy coherence to ensure that local pharmaceutical production actually increases access to medicines. UNCTAD and GIZ pursue this activity on a regional basis in South East Asia and in the Eastern African Community. In addition, UNCTAD is undertaking similar activities at the national level in cooperation with the WHO under the financial support made available by the EU. 320. In addition to access to medicines, UNCTAD has been implementing a technical assistance programme on IP and diversity with initial financial support from the Government of Germany. The programme focuses on the building of local capacity in developing countries to design and enforce domestic laws in line with access and benefit-sharing rules under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol and the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People. UNCTAD provides upon request by a developing country or a LDC an advisory report on the development dimension of intellectual property. The objective of the advisory report is to provide well-researched and reasoned advice on the policy, legal and national framework for IP rights, particularly as it relates to important development objectives such as innovation, technology and investment. 321. The key development issues are usually determined by the requesting countries. UNCTAD's technical assistance activities involve a very broad consultation with stakeholders during a fact-finding mission and an intensive review of the national policies, laws, the bilateral, regional and international commitments and also the social-economic indicators of the technical assistance-requesting country. Often the consultation process brings together government entities responsible for trade, customs, national development, health, finance, science and innovation and related policies with the private sector actors. 322. UNCTAD's experience in technical assistance has amply demonstrated the financial, administrative and economic constraints of LDCs to build technological capacity to promote local production of pharmaceuticals and improve access to medicines and related materials. UNCTAD welcomes the extension of the transitional period for the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement by LDCs until 2021. UNCTAD also considers it important to respond to the request by LDCs to further extend the period for the implementation of the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement with respect to pharmaceutical products as long as they remain LDCs. 323. Last, but not least, an important element of UNCTAD's work is consensus-building amongst stakeholders on issues of IP. It provides a forum through its intergovernmental process where governments, academia and civil society and the private sector can meet to exchange ideas. For example, UNCTAD on 21 January 2015 organized an ad-hoc Expert Group Meeting on the production of biosimilars in developing countries. More detailed information on UNCTAD's activities related to IP as well as a list of activities conducted during the period of November 2014 to October 2015 is including in this Council's meeting document IP/C/W/609/Add.4.

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

12.1. The Chairman recalled that, at its meeting in June 2015, the Council had agreed to hold its annual review of technical cooperation at this meeting. He suggested that Members also discuss any other issues relating to this agenda item.

12.2. In preparation for the annual review, developed country Members had been once more requested to update information on their technical and financial cooperation activities relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement in time for this meeting. Other Members who also made available technical cooperation had been encouraged to share information on these activities if they so wished. The Secretariat had issued on 19 June 2015 an airgram (WTO/AIR/IP/4) reminding Members of this request. In addition, intergovernmental organizations observers to the Council as well as the WTO Secretariat had been invited to provide information.

12.3. To date, the Council had received information from the following developed country Members: Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, the United States, and Norway (IP/C/W/610 and addenda). The report submitted by the European Union and individual member States, namely Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, had been made available as a room document on documents online and would also be circulated as an addendum to document IP/C/W/610.

12.4. The Council had received updated information from the following intergovernmental organizations: FAO, GCC, OECD, WCO, UNCTAD, WHO, UPOV, and WIPO (IP/C/W/609 and addenda). Updated information on the WTO Secretariat's own technical cooperation activities in the TRIPS area was circulated in document IP/C/W/608.

12.5. He said that these reports provided very valuable information both as regards details of specific activities, but also the broader policy considerations that were guiding capacity building activities of individual Members and Observers. Nevertheless, much of this resource remained largely untapped which might also be due to the amount of information provided and the way in which this was done. In order to promote awareness and transparency, the Secretariat had repeatedly suggested that the information about specific activities be reported in table format. It had also provided regular updates with respect to its work aimed at identifying ways of facilitating the submission, processing and circulation of information on technical assistance.

12.6. The representatives of the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and Ecuador took the floor.

12.7. The representative of the WTO Secretariat took the floor.

12.8. The representatives of the GCC, UNCTAD, WHO and WIPO took the floor.

12.9. The Chairman noted that some of the information had been received only very recently, and most of it was available only in its original language, and therefore proposed to provide Members an opportunity at the next meeting to make further comments on the information submitted for this meeting.

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

IP/C/M/80, IP/C/M/80/Add.1