PRESS RELEASE
PRESS/321
8 November 2002
(02-6165)
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Fifth Geneva Week concentrates on Doha Development Agenda
negotiations
WTO Members and Observers without permanent repr esentation in Geneva gathered at the WTO
on 4 November 2002 for a week-long session designed to enhance their participation in the trade
negotiations launched at the Doha Ministerial conference.
Delegates from 30 countries and 18 regional trade organizations received full briefings on sectors
currently under negotiation in the Doha Development Agenda as well as on other WTO issues.Geneva Week participants also had the opportunity  to participate in meetings of different WTO
bodies, including the formal meeting of the Negotiating Group on Market Access, a special session
of the Committee on Trade and Development dedicated to small economies, a meeting of the Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries and a Seminar on the Trade Policy Review. The Seminar
focused on how participation in the Trade Policy Review process can contribute to strengthening
the capacity of developing countries to formulate and implement trade policy, and to derivebenefits from their participation in international trade and the WTO. In addition, non-resident
delegates met with Ambassador Sergio Ma rchi, Chairman of the General Council.
In launching the Geneva Week programme, Direct or-General Supachai Panitchpakdi stressed his
commitment to assist those without representation in Geneva: “I attach the greatest importance
to the needs and priorities of the Non-Residents,” he said. “I am committed to finding ways andmeans to better assist them. Geneva Week is one of the more creative mechanisms that has been
established by the Secretariat to respond to the specific needs of WTO Members and Observers.”
This is the second Geneva Week programme this year (the previous meeting was in April). The
Geneva Week is now funded directly from the WTO’s core budget rather than through trust fund
contributions. It is designed to bring up to da te on WTO activities those Members and Observers
who are unable to regularly attend WTO meetings in Geneva. The first Geneva Week took place in
1999.
Twenty two WTO Members and 8 Observers attended the Geneva Week: (Members) Antigua &
Barbuda; Belize; Burkina Faso; Chad; Fiji; Gamb ia; Grenada; Guyana; Macao, China; Malawi;
Maldives; Mali; Namibia; Niger; Papua New Guinea; Saint Kitts & Nevis; Saint Lucia; Sierra Leone;Solomon Islands; Suriname; Swaziland; Togo; (Observers) Armenia; Bahamas; Lao, PDR; Samoa;
Sao Tome & Principe; Seychelles; Tonga; Uzbekistan. The following Secretariats of regional trade
organizations also attended: Caribbean Community; Common Market for Eastern and SouthernAfrica (COMESA); East African Community; Economic Cooperation Organization; Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS); Intergovernmental Authority on Development;PRESS/321
Page 2 of 2
Indian Ocean Commission; Organization of East Caribbean States; Pacific Islands Forum;
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery; South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC); New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD); Southern African Development
Community (SADC); Communauté Economique et Monétaire; Commission de l’Union Economique
et Monétaire; Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración; Comunidad Andina; Mercado Común delSur (MERCOSUR); Secretaría de Integración Económica Centroamericana (SIECA).
END