303. The representative of the European Communities reiterated his satisfaction at the launch of the Joint Initiative. Implementation of the Agreement by all Members remained a major objective of his delegation because intellectual property protection was important for the economic development of any country by stimulating domestic industry and attracting foreign direct investment. He referred to his delegation's reports on its wide-ranging programs of technical cooperation. He recalled that recently the WTO had adopted an ambitious program of technical cooperation and assistance as a follow-up to the Doha Ministerial Declaration. Some of the activities under that plan related to the TRIPS Agreement. The European Communities and their member States would try to cooperate as much as possible in the framework of that plan. He recalled that Commissioner Lamy had written to the Directors-General of the WTO and WIPO in 2001 drawing their attention to the ongoing discussions relating to the link between intellectual property and public health, in particular in the area of access to medicines, and underlining the need to take account of the objectives and principles laid down in Articles 7 and 8 of the TRIPS Agreement which he had said were particularly important in the pursuit of national public health policies. He had encouraged both organizations to work together, where appropriate, when providing technical assistance to developing countries to give sufficient attention to the public health dimension. He asked both the WTO and WIPO Secretariats how that request had been followed up. Recalling that Commissioner Lamy's had said in his letter that it was appropriate to take advantage of the available expertise on health matters, such as in the WHO, he asked whether the WTO and WIPO Secretariats had, in their technical cooperation programs, called on the help of the WHO.
