WORKING GROUP ON TECH TRANSFER DISCUSSES WORK PLAN
At the first informal meeting of the newly-established WTO Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology on 6 March, delegates primarily discussed how to structure their work. As instructed in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, the Working Groups will examine the relationship between trade and transfer of technology and make recommendations to the General Council "on steps that might be taken within the mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing countries". The Chair of the Group, Ambassador Stefan Johannesson of Iceland, proposed that the Group should start with analytical work and suggested inviting input from outside, such as from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Pakistan stated that it was currently drafting a paper setting out possible terms of references for the Group which would be divided into four items, namely analytical work, the interface between WTO Agreements and technology transfer, technical cooperation and consensus building. The meeting was well attended, thereby at least partly alleviating fears by developing countries that developed country Members would not take the Group seriously. Meetings of the Working Group are currently scheduled for 16 April, 11 June and 10 October.
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