Launching of the 2006 Edition of the AITIC Glossary in Hong Kong

As a side event of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference held from 13-18 December 2005 in Hong Kong, China, AITIC launched the Revised English version and the CD-ROM of the 2006 Glossary of Commonly Used International Trade Terminology with Particular Reference to the WTO at a reception held on 16 December 2005 at the Hotel Novotel Century Hong Kong. The event was well attended by the representatives from the business community, private sector, government officials, trade diplomats, and the media.

A Business-Government Forum in Hong Kong, China

AITIC and the International Trade Centre (ITC), in close cooperation with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), organised a two-day side event at Hong Kong: “Fostering Trade through Private-Public Dialogue” on 11-12 December 2005 i.e. two days before the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference began. This joint initiative aimed at increasing the common understanding of WTO negotiations and provided a forum for the business community and the negotiators from less-advantaged countries to jointly define their priorities. The key areas addressed during the event were: State of Play of WTO Negotiations; Mainstreaming Business into WTO Negotiations; the Agricultural Negotiations; Trade Facilitation; NAMA Negotiations; GATS Negotiations; WTO and the Parliamentary Process; and Regional and Bilateral Trade Negotiations. Besides government officials, parliamentarians, representatives from the civil society, business community, the private sector as well as members of the media and academics actively participated in the event. The event was held at the Regal Hong Kong Hotel, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.

Report of the event.

AITIC Session during the Eleventh Geneva Week organised by WTO

Within the Eleventh Geneva Week organised for the Non-Residents by the WTO from 14 to 18 November 2005, AITIC held a session on 15 November 2005 from 14.30 to 18.00 in Room ‘D’ at the WTO. Dr Esperanza Durán, Executive Director, AITIC, opened the session by presenting the Situation Report: A Factual Account on the State of Play in the Doha Work Programme - pre Hong Kong. Presentations were also made by Mr Peter Pedersen, Counsellor, Council and Trade Negotiations Committee, on the decision-making process in the WTO; Mr David Woods, Consultant, AITIC, on Trade Facilitation Negotiations; and Ms Simone Rudder, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Barbados, on progress on the Work Programme on small and vulnerable economies, relevant to the non-residents and the Less-advantaged Countries (LACs). Around 70 participants from the LACs and the non-resident countries attended the AITIC session and held interactive discussions while seeking clarification on some of the issues.

Report of the meeting.

Third meeting of the Council of Representatives of AITIC

The Third meeting of the Council of Representatives of AITIC was held on Friday, 11 November 2005 at 10am, in Room ‘C’, Conference Centre of Varembé, 9 rue de Varembé, Geneva.

At the request of the Government of the Republic of Benin, AITIC organised a seminar on “Multilateral Trade Issues under Negotiation at the WTO, Market Access and the Promotion of Exports” in Cotonou from 3-6 October 2005. The seminar was inaugurated by Mrs Massiyatou Latoundji Lauriano, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Employment Promotion. The objective of the seminar was to review the “July 2004 package”, particularly in terms of agriculture, non-agricultural market access (NAMA), services and trade facilitation. The International Trade Centre (ITC) took an active part in the meeting and gave presentations on market access search tools such as “MacMap” and “TradeMap”. The meeting also aimed at providing assistance to Trade Officials from Benin in the preparation of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in December 2005 in Hong Kong, China. Besides government officials, representatives from the civil society and the private sector as well as members of the media and academics participated.

At the request of the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR), AITIC organised a seminar on “Multilateral Trade Issues under Negotiation at the WTO, Market Access and the Promotion of Exports” in Bangui from 26-29 September 2005. The seminar was inaugurated by the Minister of Communication, National Reconciliation, Democratic Culture and the Promotion of Human Rights in the interim of Mrs Emilie Béatrice EPAYE, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises. The seminar focused on the areas of concern expressed by the CAR, particularly with regard to agriculture, non-agricultural market access (NAMA), services and trade facilitation. In addition to government officials, representatives from civil society and the private sector representatives as well as members of the media and academics participated. Training certificates were handed out at the seminar’s closing ceremony which was highlighted by the presence of a large government delegation: besides the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises; Ministers of Communication, National Reconciliation, Democratic Culture and the Promotion of Human Rights; Post, Telecommunications and New Technologies as well as the Deputy Minister of Rural Development, in charge of Agriculture, were also in attendance.

AITIC’s Activities in Macedonia

A Workshop on the Doha Work Programme (DWP) and WTO Trade Facilitation Negotiations was organised by AITIC, in collaboration with the Customs authorities of Macedonia and the “WTO Compliance Activity” project of USAID (Macedonia), on 23 and 24 September 2005 in Ohrid, Macedonia. The workshop provided information on achievements and challenges of the DWP and the various issues involved in trade facilitation especially from the perspective of landlocked countries and economies in transition. On this occasion, AITIC also launched the Macedonian version of the Glossary of Commonly Used International Trade Terminology with Particular Reference to the WTO. The translation into Macedonian was sponsored by the “WTO Compliance Activity” project

During the second Trade Policy Review of the Republic of Guinea at the WTO, a delegation led by HE Dr Djènè Saran Camara, Minister of Trade, Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of the Republic of Guinea paid an informal visit to AITIC offices on 14 October 2005. This meeting provided an opportunity for a fruitful exchange in view of strengthening cooperation between the Republic of Guinea and AITIC.

Building Partnerships for Capacity-Building of SPECA Countries on WTO issues

As a follow-up to a meeting last year in Geneva of “Friends of SPECA” and of the Astana Conference (held on 25-27 May 2005) on strengthening sub-regional economic cooperation among SPECA countries, AITIC held an informal brainstorming meeting to enable SPECA countries to identify their specific trade-related needs. The meeting was attended by representatives of the SPECA countries and of economies in transition, as well as international organisations such as UNECE, World Bank and IDEAS Centre. The participants exchanged views on issues of special interest for transition economies in the Doha trade negotiations and on implementation of commitments of recently acceded WTO members. The meeting was held on 29 June 2005 at 10 am in the AITIC office at 9, rue de Varembé.

Report of this meeting.

Early Warning System - Discontinuation

We regret to inform our readers that on the recommendation of its Members, AITIC will cease the publication of the Early Warning System (EWS) from July 2005. AITIC was bringing out the EWS for the non-resident members and observers of the WTO since June 2002. The decision was reached by AITIC Members to avoid duplication of efforts, since similar information is now made available by WTO in its Non-Resident Newsletter as Tentative Programme and Details of the WTO Meetings. Suggestions and views on the discontinuation of AITIC’s EWS are welcome. You may kindly fill in the Evaluation Form to enable us to assist you better.

Second meeting of the Council of Representatives of AITIC

The Second meeting of the Council of Representatives of AITIC was held on Tuesday, 31 May 2005 at 10am, in Room C, Conference Centre of Varembé, 9 rue de Varembé, Geneva.

Interview with Ambassador Amina Chawahir Mohamed: three challenges for the WTO in 2005

HE Ms Amina Chawahir Mohamed has chaired the General Council of the WTO since 15 February 2005. She is the first woman to hold this post since the creation of the WTO—indeed, even during the GATT no woman was elected to this position—and as such, it seemed vital to ask about her impressions on the day following her election to this prestigious office. All the more so since, in her inaugural address, Ambassador Mohamed stressed that this year would be pivotal for the WTO and for all its Members about to face three major challenges, namely preparing and organising the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Hong Kong, China, next December, electing the new Director-General and bringing the negotiations launched in Doha in November 2001 to a conclusion. (more...)

Workshop on: The Small and Vulnerable Economies in the WTO and the Doha Work Programme

On the occasion of the WTO Public Symposium (20-22 April 2005), AITIC organised on 21 April 2005, jointly with the Bolivian Association for the Political Economy of Globalisation (ABEPG), a workshop on: The Small and Vulnerable Economies in the WTO and the Doha Work Programme. This workshop aimed to identify the main characteristics and the common difficulties of small economies and to analyse the progress achieved by those countries in the context of the Doha Work Programme. The workshop provided the opportunity to establish a dialogue among those interested in the issue of small economies in the WTO and gave an NGO from a Small Economy, i.e. from Bolivia, the possibility to express its views, to share its views and proposals on the issue with delegates and representatives of other NGOs. It also gave ABEPG the chance to hear the observations of delegates involved in the negotiations in Geneva that will be transmitted to the concerned members of the Bolivian civil society.

Report of this workshop.

Workshop on: Trade Facilitation A Tool for Development

During the WTO Public Symposium, a workshop on Trade Facilitation a Tool for Development was organised by AITIC and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), on 21 April 2005. Trade facilitation, the only one of the four Singapore issues on which negotiations are proceeding, has been widely recognised as a potentially powerful instrument to assist the less-advantaged countries—in particular the landlocked developing countries, least-developed countries and low-income transition economies—to have a more efficient customs clearance, to improve national competitiveness as well as to increase public revenues. AITIC’s personalised and targeted approach to trade-related technical assistance, together with the UNECE’s vast experience on the technical aspects of cross-border movement of goods and services, made this workshop particularly useful. It was aimed at giving a bird’s-eye view on the various issues involved in trade facilitation, especially from the perspective of landlocked countries and countries with economies in transition. The workshop was a popular event and was well-attended. The presentations stimulated participants and led to a lively discussion.