AITIC Council of Representatives

The first meeting of the Council of Representatives of AITIC was held on 17 December 2004 at the Centre de conférences de Varembé (CCV).

AITIC Session of the Geneva Week:

In the context of the ninth Geneva Week for the Non-Residents, organised by the WTO from 1 to 5 November 2004, AITIC convened an informal “warm-up” meeting on 1 November 2004 from 14.00 to 18.00 at the WTO headquarters. During this session, speakers briefed non-residents on the content, scope and coverage of the Decision adopted by the WTO General Council on 1 August 2004 in relation to the Doha Work Programme. The session provided a general overview of all the issues dealt with during the week. In particular, presentations were made by the Chairpersons of the negotiation groups on agriculture and NAMA (HE Mr Tim Groser and HE Mr Stefán H. Jóhannesson respectively) as well as by Mr Nicolas Imboden (Director, Ideas Centre), an expert on the cotton initiative, and Mr Peter Pedersen (WTO Secretariat) on the process of the Decision of 1 August 2004.

Report on this session.

Award from the Royal Government of Cambodia

Dr Esperanza Durán, Executive Director of AITIC, was awarded, by HE Mr CHAM Prasidh, Minister of Commerce, Royal Government of Cambodia, the Sahakmetry Medal, Rank Assarith (Knight), a national award for friendship and cooperation, in appreciation of her effort in assisting this LDC in its WTO accession process.

Workshop on Access to Medicines : 12 to 14 October 2004

A workshop on the WTO Decision on Access to Medicines at Affordable Prices by Countries with Insufficient or No Manufacturing Capacities for Pharmaceutical Products was jointly organized by the Commonwealth and ACP Group Secretariats and AITIC. The purpose of the workshop was to assess the legislative and institutional framework that could be adopted by certain countries to benefit from and comply with the WTO TRIPS Council Decision of 30 August 2003.   The workshop consisted of a two-day experts’ meeting held in the Palais des Nations . This was followed by the discussion at WTO headquarters of the conclusions of the experts’ meeting by the ambassadors and representatives of the countries concerned (including those of some developed countries).

Signing Ceremony of the Seat Agreament between AITIC and the Swiss Federal Council

The Seat Agreement between AITIC and the Swiss Federal Council was signed by HE Mr Paul Seger, Ambassador, Director of the Directorate of International Public Law, on behalf of the Swiss Federal Council and by Dr Esperanza Durán, Executive Director, AITIC, on behalf of AITIC. The Signing Ceremony was held on 31 August 2004 at the Foreign Affairs Department in the Palais fédéral ouest in Bern. The agreement has been applied as of 30 April 2004, date on which the Agreement of 9 December 2002 establishing the Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation as an intergovernmental organization entered into force.