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25 November  2022 
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Committee on Trade in Financial Services    
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 14 OCTOBER  2022 
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
The Committee on Trade in Financial Services held a meeting on 14 October , under the 
Chairpersonship of Ms Krizia Matthews  (Panama ). The agenda was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/CTFS/1 2. 
The representative of the European Union  wished to express its support for Ukraine  and condemned  
Russia's unjustified and illegal invasion of Ukraine. Her delegation was appalled and shocked by the 
horrific attacks that Russia had launched on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities earlier that week. The 
indiscriminate targeting of civilians was a war crime and those responsible would be brought to 
justice. The EU rejected and condemned the illegal annexation  that Russia had engineered in the 
four regions of Ukraine, which once again trampled on the United Nations Charter and the 
international order.  
 
Her delegation called on Russia to immediately cease its military actions, unconditionally withdraw 
all force s from Ukraine, and fully respect Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and 
independence.  
 
The European Union would continue to provide its political, financial, military, and humanitarian 
support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggressio n, and it would do so for as long as it took. 
The European Union stood with Ukrainian people who were fighting for their country, for their future 
as well as the common values of freedom and dignity.  
 
The representative of Australia  echoed the European Un ion in condemning Russia's unilateral, illegal, 
and immoral aggression against the people of Ukraine. Russia's invasion was a gross violation of 
international law, including the United Nations Charter.  
 
Australia also condemned Russia's illegal annexation  of four regions of Ukraine and condemned 
Russia's sham referenda in the occupied areas of the country, branding them illegitimate and as 
having no legal effect. The representative said that the regions were sovereign Ukrainian territory 
and that President  Putin's annexation was illegal and was a dangerous escalation of the situation. 
Any claims that these territories were now part of Russia were baseless and false.  
 
Australia would continue its support for Ukraine in cooperation with its partners to promote peace 
and security in the region.  
 
The representative of Canada  joined previous delegations  in conde mning  Russia's illegal, 
unprovoked, and unjustifiable actions. Her delegation also condemned, in the strongest possible 
terms, Russia's most recent missile strikes against civilian infrastructure and cities across Ukraine.  
Her delegation stated that indiscrimin ate attacks on innocent civilian populations constituted a war 
crime, and they would hold President Putin and those responsible to account. That hostile act was a 
blatant violation of international law and the rules -based international system.  
 
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  S/FIN/M/95  
 
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  Canada did  not and would not recognise Russia's attempted illegal annexation of Ukrainian 
territories. As before, Canada stood in its unwavering support for Ukraine's rights to defend itself 
against Russia's war of aggression.  
 
Joining others, the representative of  New Zealand  condemned , unequivocally, Russia 's attempts to 
illegally annex Russia -occupied regions of Ukraine. He stated that Russia 's sham referenda were 
illegitimate  and ha d no legal basis for the acquisition of Ukraine 's territory. Russia 's acts of 
aggression were a clear violation of Ukraine 's sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand 
support ed collective action s by the international community to denounce the egregious and unlawful 
actions taken by Russia.  
 
The representative of Japan  stated t hat his delegation joined other Members in condemning Russia's 
aggression against Ukraine. The purported incorporation of four states in Ukraine that had been 
forcibly put under Russia's temporary control by its aggression was nothing but an attempt to acq uire 
territory by force and went against international law, including the United Nations Charter. Such 
attempts were invalid and went diametrically against the principle of the rule of law in the 
international community.  
 
His delegation also condemned the  most recent Russian missile attacks against civilian infrastructure 
and cities across Ukraine. Once again, Japan strongly urged Russia to immediately stop the 
aggression and withdraw its forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally reco gnized 
borders.  
 
In cooperation with the international community, Japan would also continue to work firmly on the 
two pillars of imposing strong sanctions against Russia and supporting Ukraine.  
 
The representative of the Republic of Korea  stated that t he Korean Government strongly condemn ed 
Russia 's armed invasion of Ukraine as a violation of the principles of the UN Charter. Ukraine 's 
sovereignty, territorial integrity , and independence had to  be respected.  
 
The Korean Government d id not recognize the re ferenda and Russia 's annexation of the Ukrainian 
territory as legitimate. Russia 's invasion was disrupting the global trade system , including services. 
Many services, such as travel, transportation, communication and so forth ha d been seriously 
damaged by the invasion.  
 
The representative of Norway  joined others in condemning, in the strongest possible terms, the 
unprecedented military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. He expressed 
Norway's concerns for the severe destruction and human suffering that illegal act of aggression was  
causing.  
 
By its unprovoked, unjustified, and premeditated military actions, attempting to annex the territory 
of another WTO Member, the Russian Federation was grossly violating international law, the core 
principles on which the international rules -based order was built, including the WTO, and the 
fundamental principles of the UN Charter that had prevailed since World War II. He concluded by 
reiterating that Norway stood in solidarity for as long as it took with Ukraine and the Ukrainian 
people.  
 
The re presentative of Switzerland  said that his country condemned Russia's military aggression 
against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. That military attack was a flagrant violation of 
international law, the prohibition of the use of force, and the princ iple of the territorial integrity of 
States.  
 
Switzerland called on Russia to take military de -escalation measures, to cease hostilities, and to 
immediately withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory. Switzerland would not recognize, under 
any circumsta nces, the dubious results of illegally organized referenda in the territories of the self -
proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and the occupied territories of Kherson and 
Zaporizhzhia. Those so -called referendums were a flagrant violation of the ter ritorial integrity of 
Ukraine. Switzerland did not recognize the integration of Ukrainian territories into the Russian 
Federation.  
 
Echoing the statements of other Members, the representative of the United Kingdom  condemned 
Russia's actions in the stronges t possible terms. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was an egregious S/FIN/M/95  
 
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  violation of international law and very rules that the WTO was based on. That violation was no more 
palpable than the purported annexation of the four regions of Ukraine. The United Kingdom di d not 
and would not accept that. Russia's sham referenda would not be recognised.  
 
The United Kingdom stood with the Government and people of Ukraine for as long as it took to 
ensure that their country was liberated.  
 
The representative of the United States  joined previous delegations in condemning  Russia's actions 
in Ukraine.  
 
The Uni ted States continued to support and stand with Ukraine and condemned Russia's 
premeditated and unprovoked and sustained attack on Ukraine. His delegation called upon Russia 
to immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine and refrain from any further unlawful threat 
or use of force against any United Nations member State.  
 
The United States remained united with its allies and partners in its commitment to ensure that the 
Russian Government paid a severe economic and diplomatic price for its further in vasion of Ukraine.  
 
The representative of Ukraine  thanked the delegations who had made statements in support of 
Ukraine, as that support was very important for her country in those difficult times. She indicated 
that her delegation would come back with a substantive statement at a later stage in the meeting.  
 
The representative of the Russian Federation  stated that the statements delivered today by certain 
Members on the situa tion in Ukraine went beyond the scope of the agenda and  politicise d the work 
of the Committee. He called on the Members and the Chair to comply with the rules of conduct and 
refrain from repeating political statements which sound ed ridiculous , destroy ed the constructive 
work in the Committee , and wasted the time of Members.   
1  THEMATIC SEMINAR "FINTECH: TRADE, FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND DEVELOPMENT " 
1.1.  Before turning to the delegation  of Canada for the presentation of its proposal, the Chairperson  
addressed more generally the Committee's situation. She reminded Members that the Committee 
last met two years ago. While she understood the Members' collective willingness to hold meetings 
that would address specific issues of interest to Members, she to ok the opportunity to remind 
delegations of the Committee's mandate, contained in the Decision on Institutional Arrangements 
for the General Agreement on Trade in Services, so as to give an idea of the Committee's potential. 
In that regard, she said that a s a general mandate, the Committee sh ould afford Members the 
opportunity to consult on any matters relating to trade in financial services and the operation of the 
Annex on Financial Services. Such responsibilities, which were very broad, included for exam ple the 
following: to keep under continuous review and surveillance the application of the Agreement with 
respect to the financial sector; to provide a forum for technical discussions ; to conduct studies on 
measures of Members ; and to conduct examinations of any other technical matters affecting trade 
in financial services. In the Chairperson's view, the Committee should be put to better use, for the 
benefit of all Members. Addressing and discussing topical issues, such as those raised by Canada, 
provided a  good example in that sense.  
1.2.  Having said that, she turned to the main item in the agenda and informed Members that the 
item had been included in the agenda at the request of the delegation of Canada – a request that 
was accompanied by the circulation of a proposal to hold a thematic seminar on "Financial services : 
Trade, Inclusion and Accessibility" (document JOB/SERV/CTFS/1).  
1.3.  The representative of Canada  welcomed the opportunity to present the proposal for a Thematic 
Seminar on "Financial Services: Trade, Sustainability and Accessibility " for consideration by the 
Committee on Trade in Financial Services. She said that Canada was a supporter of the Committee, 
which was a unique venue for experts  on trade in financial services to meet and discuss issues of 
interest. Although specialists in these issues m ight meet in smaller configurations from time to time , 
for example in the context of bilateral or regional trade work, Canada was of the view that this 
Committee played an important role in bringing the commu nity across the globe on these issues 
together . In Canada's view, a thematic seminar would be a useful way forward  – this format was 
successfully used in the past in this Committee and in others across the WTO, facilitating information 
sharing among Member s. S/FIN/M/95  
 
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  1.4.  The topic of the seminar was selected in view of the strong interest in inclusion and accessibility 
issues, both from the broader trade perspective at the WTO, as highlighted at WTO Public Forum, 
but also in the specific context of trade in financial se rvices . Canada was proposing a one-day event 
to explore these issues, organized into four sessions:  1) "Financial services trade and inclusive 
growth ", with a view to exploring the rationale for applying an inclusive perspective in the 
development of finan cial services trade policy  and the potential impacts this approach could have on 
promoting inclusive growth; 2) "Gender lens on financial services trade ", aiming at exploring how 
financial services trade policy can improve the capacity and conditions for w omen to access trade 
and investment ; 3) "Accessibility in financial services trade ", with a view to exploring initiatives to 
increase women and other underserved group s' access to financial services, such as in the area of 
microfinanc e; 4) " Expanding access through financial technologies ", focusing on the role of 
technology in improving outcomes on these issues . 
1.5.  She further explained that the intent was to find a mixture of topics  so as to include issues  of 
interest across the membership to m ake the discussions relevant to all. She expressed the hope that 
as work moved forward on this proposal a good lineup  of speakers from different parts of the world 
could be found so as to bring different perspectives and experiences in these discussions.  
1.6.  Before offering the floor to Members for their reactions on the proposal, the Chairperson  said 
that socio -economic inclusion and accessibility were critical issues at the forefront not only of 
national Governments' agendas but also of international initiati ves. In her view, it would be 
extremely useful for Members to explore how trade in financial services can further foster inclusivity 
and accessibility, and how trade policy in financial services can be leveraged to further promote 
inclusivity and accessibi lity.  
1.7.  The representative of the European Union  supported the proposal to organize a thematic 
seminar on inclusion and accessibility in financial services . The proposal was timely, and the topics 
identified for the different sessions were pertinent and should be of interest to all Members, in 
particular developing countries. The proposed discussion s on gender inclusive policies and the use 
of technology for inclusiveness  were interesting and important.  
1.8.  The representative of China said that his country attached great importance to inclusive finance 
and had work ed extensively to improve inclusiveness and access to  financial services. In particular, 
China had supported access to financial services in rural area s and to the poor and had promoted 
the development of digital finance with a view to facilitating access to financial service s and products. 
China supported the proposal by Canada to organize a thematic seminar on these issues. He looked 
forward to discussing these issues with Members.  
1.9.  The representative of Chile supported the proposal. He further indicated that the proposed 
sessions 2 (g ender lens on financial services trade ) and 4 (Expanding a ccess through financial 
technologies ) were of particular interest to his delegation.  
1.10.  The representative of the United Kingdom  said that inclusion and accessibility were 
fundamental to trade and , as Canada had highlighted , were two of the key themes that came out of 
the WTO Public Forum.  The United Kingdom therefore supported Canada 's proposal to look at these 
issues through a financial services lens.  An inclusive and acce ssible financial services industry ha d a 
positive impact on consumers, workplace culture, and investment; improve d decision -making ; and 
made markets more competitive.  The United Kingdom included strong commitments in its most 
recent FTAs that serve d to pro mote diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.  The United Kingdom would 
be happy to share its best practice and were keen to learn from the experience of others  – the 
Canadian proposal offered  an excellent opportunity to do that.  The United Kingdom looked forward 
to participating in the sessions.   
1.11.  The representative of Australia  supported the proposal. Australia recognized the critical 
importance of socio-economic inclusion and  accessibility to trade in financial services . In her v iew, 
this was a constructive and timely discussion for the membership to have. In this context , Australia 
would be  particularly interested in exploring in more detail  the role that financial services c ould play 
in promoting sustainable economic development, in supporting MSMEs and in advancing women's 
economic empowerment. Australia would be pleased  to participate in the seminar.  S/FIN/M/95  
 
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  1.12.  The representative of New Zealand  supported the proposal. He said that New Zea land was a 
strong advocate of dialogue on inclusive trade policy. Developing an understanding on how inclusive 
trade can be pursued in the context of financial services trade policy h eld real value.  Financial 
services was a sector that was both a significa nt source of trade in its own right and an enabler for 
the economy at large. Providing access to competitive financial services markets and to financial 
tools was instrumental  in enabling the participation of underrepresented groups in international trade 
flows.  This accessibility question applie d both across WTO Members and also across constituencies 
within each Member. New Zealand was pleased  to see that the proposed agenda c ontain ed 
components on the interests of developing Members  and that a gender lens was being considered 
in relation to the sector. In his view, all Members should be able to find value in this proposal, which 
provided the opportunity to pursue work in an im portant committee within the multilateral services 
agenda.  
1.13.  The representative of Norway  also supported the initiative to discuss the growing impact of 
trade in financial services on inclusivity and equality . The Norwegian financial regulatory agency had 
already taken steps to address certain aspects of this issue and implemented national regulation to 
this effect. Norway advocated further discussion on these issues, and therefore supported Canadas's  
proposal to organize a thematic seminar on this topic.  
1.14.  The representative of South Africa  thanked Canada and took note of the proposal. H owever, 
South Africa sought  clarification on a few issues . Firstly, she sought clarification with regard to the 
intention behind the expression " addressing these issues in the unique regulatory context of the 
financial services sector " in paragraph one of the communication. Secondly, she asked whether this 
proposal was linked to the communication from Australia, Canada, Switzerland and the United 
Kingdom entitled  "Explorator y Discussions on Market Access for Financial Services " dated 18 
November 2020  (document JOB/SERV/302) . Thirdly, she asked whether a follow -up to the proposed 
seminar was envisaged. She clarified that South Africa had no objection to an information -sharing 
workshop ; however, her delegation could not support the proposal if the intention was to 
complement or l aunch discussions on market access or domestic regulation disciplines for financial 
services .  
1.15.  Finally, she expressed some concerns with respect to the presentation of issues in the 
proposed sessions two, three and four. The framework of those session s seemed to be too restricted. 
In her view, as they were formulated, those session s would not accommodate the diversity of 
Members' experiences on financial inclusion and exclusion.  While South Africa agreed that gender 
was an important issue, there were other groups marginalized and excluded. An exclusive focus on 
gender would not allow for an adequate discussion on other marginalized groups in the context of  
financial services. In her view, therefore, the content of those sessions should be worked out with a 
view to reaching a more balanced programme. South Africa looked forward to further working with 
Canada and the Secretariat to achieve a more inclusive an d balanced programme.  
1.16.  The representative of Japan  said that  inclusiveness and accessibility were important issues in 
financial services. Japan welcomed C anada's proposal and look ed forward to participating in the 
seminar.  
1.17.  The representative of Switzerland  said that the Committee had been idle for more than  two 
years . It was time to  resume work  on financial services and deal with development s in this sector. 
The Canadian proposal cov ered several interesting issues. He said that the suggested topics were 
fully within the mandate of this Committee  and recommended to f ocus – as suggested by Canada – 
on topics an d aspects relevant to trade polic y. Switzerland favoured the organization of the proposed 
thematic seminar  and looked forward to taking part  in the seminar and to contribut ing to the talks.  
1.18.  The representative of the Philippines  said that the proposal would contribute  to the 
revitalization of work in this Committee. Addressing the proposed agenda for the seminar, he said 
that the Philippines would like to contribute to session 4 (Expanding access through financial 
technologies) by sharing its experience with the recently launched digital banking frame work. He 
further suggested discussing the digitalization of remittances, which were of importance from a 
development perspective for many Members. He offered to further coordinate and work on the 
seminar's program.  S/FIN/M/95  
 
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  1.19.  The representative of the United States  supported the proposal and expressed interest in 
working on the development of the program. The United States found the proposed topics  to be 
timely , relevant,  and worthy of further examination and information exchange  in the Committee.  
1.20.  The representative of the Republic of Korea  supported Canada's proposal. He said that tackling 
socio-economic  inclusivity and equality in the context of financial services  trade was timely and 
meaningful. Also, Fintech had bee n emerging among many Members, including Korea. In that 
respect, how to make financial services more accessible to underserved groups through technology 
was worth discussing. He added that reducing the digital divide among Members was crucial.  
1.21.  The representative of Singapore  echoed many Members' appreciation for Canada's proposal. 
Singapore believed that this would be a good platform to discuss some of the issues raised in the 
proposal, in particular how to expand access to financial services through technology. Singapore 
would  like to further explore opportunities for sharing best practices, for example on the 
interoperability of payments systems, as a means to supporting SMEs accessing market 
opportunities abroad. Singapore looked forward to  deepening exchanges and learning fr om other 
Members as well.   
1.22.   The representative of India said tha t as could be seen from the draft agenda in Canada's 
proposal, the focus of the proposed seminar in three out of four sessions was on gender or wom en 
issues. The proposal aimed inter alia  to apply a gender lens on financial services trade and  to 
consider how financial services trade policy c ould be used to improve the capacity of women to 
benefit from the opportunities of trade and investment. One of th e pillars of the plurilateral initiative  
on trade and gender – the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender – was " to consider the 
scope for a gender lens to be applied to the work of the WTO ". India saw this specific proposal as 
an attempt to bring the agenda o f the informal working group on trade and gender into th is 
Committee . India did not support this. While women  empowerment was a very important public 
policy objective, it was important to acknowledge the different context, challenges and capabilities 
in countries at different stages of development. WTO energy should be devoted to the mandated 
work areas rather than burden it with the new issues.  She said that India did  not support the current 
focus on gender issues in the proposed seminar  by Canada. She urged Members  not to bring in new 
issues in the functioning of Committees which ha d very clear mandates.  
1.23.  However, as an alternative, she suggest ed that the Committee sh ould focus – under the 
broader discussions on financial services trade , inclusion and accessibility  – on cross-border 
remittance s services. A dedicated discussion on this latter issue could be organized. I nternational 
remittances play ed an essential role i n supporting economic development and policy objectives 
related to financial inclusion. Remittance s typically fl owed from developed economies to developing 
economies. In many developing  countries and LDCs , remittances were usually the first financial 
service used by the sender s and the receivers ; thus providing a point of contact with the financial 
sector that c ould be leveraged to increase access to other financial services. Remittance flow s also 
benefit ed from greater financial inclusion of both the sende rs and receivers. The higher the 
percentage of remittance users that ha d an account, the greater the likelihood that funds w ould be 
sent via those accounts and not through unregulated channels. This c ould significantly increase the 
value of remittances, in creasing their impact on economic development.  Because of the close 
relationship between international remittances and financial inclusion, policy makers ha d promoted 
initiatives to support these remittances over the past two decades. In particular, the need to reduce 
the cost of sending remittances ha d become one of the key issues in the international development 
agenda. The United Nations included a target f or remittance s cost reduction in the sustainable 
development goals. The target aim s to reduce the global average cost  of sending 200 dollars to less 
than 3 per cent by 2030 , and to ensure that by then, the cost for sending 200 dollars did not surpass 
5 per  cent. In 2020, G20 prioritised the enhancement of cross boarder payments , including 
remittances.  
1.24.  The Covid 19 pandemic accelerated the trend towards digitalization of retail financial services. 
However, cash -based remittances still remain ed the most preva lent payment instrument in most 
receiv ing markets  – this could be due to the lack of access to transaction accounts, lack of options 
for receiving transfers using the digital channels or lack of digital products. In view of the se 
considerations, India suggested to have a dedicated discussion , seminar or workshop on remittances 
services under the aegis of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services. This would go a long way 
in bringing the focus of this Committee  on the significant financial services.  S/FIN/M/95  
 
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  1.25.  The representative of  Ukraine  supported the proposal. Taking into account the importance of 
financial services both as an economic sector and  as a key  input to other economic activities, Ukraine 
saw great value in  – and supported the idea of – holding a  thematic seminar in order to get a better 
understanding of these relevant topics.  
1.26.  The representative of Mexico  welcomed the proposal by Canada. T he topics proposed for the 
seminar  were very relevant . Mexico had taken a series of actions  to strengthen financial inclusion , 
such as the creation of the National Council for Financial Inclusion and the Institutional Committee 
for Gender Equality in Financial Entities. Mexico looked forward to participating actively in the  
seminar.  
1.27.   The representative of Barbados  said that t he issues highlighted by the proposal we re critical 
for Barbados and other small countries . In light of the importance of financial services, both as an  
economic sector in its own right and a key input to  economic activity around the world, it was 
important to better understand  some of the sector -specific implications of these issues. Barbados 
had highlighted in the past its interest  in the area of financial services and financial inclusion  – 
specifically, the issue of de -risking and correspondent banking , which had had a  negative impact on 
the financial services sectors and on remittances, the main beneficiaries of which we re often the 
poor, including wom en and children. In examining the Canadian proposal , Barbados suggested the 
inclusion of a session on de-risking and correspondent banking in the proposed agenda . She said 
Barbados would c ontinue to examine the proposal , and remained open to engage bilaterally with the 
proponents . 
1.28.  The representative of Canada  appreciated that many Members provided views on the proposal 
and thanked them for their support. She then addressed questions raised on the proposal. First, she 
addressed questions raised regarding a sentence in paragr aph 1 that read as follows: "Accordingly, 
Canada is proposing that the CTFS agree to hold a thematic seminar to discuss the opportunities 
and challenges with addressing these issues in the unique regulatory context of the financial services 
sector".  In tha t regard, questions were raised regarding the meaning of the expressions "addressing" 
and "unique regulatory context of the financial services sector." She explained – referring to the 
expression "addressing" – that Canada's aim with the single event propo sed was to enable a 
discussion o n the opportunities and challenges faced by M embers in addressing these issues . There 
was no intention to propose an additional area of work for the WTO. She then explained that the 
reference to "unique regulatory context of the financial services sector" had meant to capture the 
uniqueness of the financial sector, which was important in itself and also played a crucial role in 
underpinning all the other se ctors in the economy. That dual role explained, in her view, why so 
many free trade agreements had separate chapters dealing with this sector and why this Committee 
had been instituted at the WTO to discuss these issues.  
1.29.  Then she addressed a question on the link between this proposal and the proposal by Canada 
and other Members on financial services in the context of discussions in the Council for Trade in 
Services Special Session. She clarified that the other proposal was  discussed in a different WTO body 
and was not connected with the proposal submitted to this Committee. She stressed that Canada 
was proposing to hold a single event and nothing more  – that was the extent of the proposal.  
1.30.  Addressing the comments regarding the focus of the proposal on gender issues, she explained 
that the intention, as shown in sessions one, three and four of the proposed seminar, was to also 
focus on other underserved groups . In other words, the intention was for Members to  have a 
discussio n on gender issues but also on other underserved groups . The aim was therefore to have a 
diversified program that would look into the situation of different underserved groups. With respect 
to gender , Canada did believe that incorporating a gender perspect ive into trade policy, including 
financial services trade  policy, was key t o pursuing inclusive and sustainable economic development.  
Women play ed a major role in the world econom y. For example, they owned close to 10 million  of 
the world's SMEs. A focus o n women's access to financial services  was warranted.  
1.31.  She then turned to the suggestions made on the content of the program. Regarding the issue 
of remittances, she said that while the proposal did not refer explicitly to remittances, new 
technologies were  being used to deal with remittances, so a discussion on how technology was used 
to facilitate remittances could be included in session four of the proposed seminar. In fact, the 
proposal was drafted in such a way as to allow di scussion of examples concern ing different financial 
services activities.  S/FIN/M/95  
 
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  1.32.  She indicated that if Members agreed to move forward with the proposal, the actual content 
of the program would still need to be fleshed out and, in so doing, proposals by Members could be 
incorporated. She looked forward to working with Members with a view to finding a way forward.  
1.33.  The Chairperson  said tha t Members had an interesting discussion on the proposal by Canada 
to hold a thematic seminar and on the topics raised therein. While many Members supported the 
proposal, two delegations  expressed some reservations. South Africa, while not opposed in princi ple 
to organizing the seminar, sought to rebalance the content of sessions two, three and four . India 
proposed, as an alternative to the Canadian proposal, holding a dedicate d discussion on cross -border 
remittances. In the Chairperson's view, the Committee  would need to r evert to this topic and this 
discussion in the next meeting . In the meantime, she proposed that the Chair conduct consultations 
with interested Members  on the way forward.  
2  OTHER BUSINESS  
2.1.  The Chairperson  informed Members that, as had been c ommunicated by the Chairperson of the 
Council for Trade in Services, her functions as Deputy Permanent Representative of Panama would 
end on 29 November  2022. She would therefore need to step down as Chairperson of the Committee. 
She thanked all Members for the trust vested in her, and for their support during this period. She 
also thanked the Secretariat for the support and assistance provided during this per iod. As 
appropriate in these cases, the succession consultations were being carried out by the Chair person  
of the Council for Trade in Services. While her Chairpersonship  was short, she left with the 
satisfaction that Members recognized the importance of t his Committee as a forum for debate. She 
expressed the hope that the Committee take advantage of proposals such as Canada's and those of 
other Members, to further contribute to a better understanding of trade in financial services and 
policies related to t rade in financial services.  
 
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