RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/80  
 
13 November 2020  
(20-8158) Page: 1/7 
Committee on Government Procurement   
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMAL MEETING OF 7  OCTOBER 2020  
CHAIR: MR CARLOS VANDERLOO (CANADA)  
The Chair said that, in preparation for the meeting, delegations had received an Airgram1 setting 
out the proposed agenda, which was as follows:  
 
1. Adoption of the Committee's Revised draft Decision on the United Kingdom's Accession 
to the Agreement on Gove rnment Procurement (GPA) in Its Own Right 
(GPA/ACC/GBR/32/Rev.1, dated 14  July 2020);  
2. Statement by a Capital -based Delegate of Côte d'Ivoire on its Participation in the 
Committee as An Observer; and  
3. Other Business, if any.  
With regard to Other Business, th e Chair informed that he would provide an update on the date for 
the end -of-the-year meeting in November 2020.  
The Committee adopted  the agenda.  
1  ACCESSION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM TO THE GPA IN ITS OWN RIGHT  
1.1.  The Chair recalled that the draft Decision on the accession of the United Kingdom in its own 
right had been circulated to the Committee on 14  July 2020 (GPA/ACC/GBR/32/Rev.1). At the time 
of circulation, the Chair had sought comments, if any, on the revised text by no later than COB on 
Tuesday, 28 July. N o comments on the revised text had been received by that deadline. 
Consequently, Parties had been informed by the e -mail dated 29 July 2020 that the text of the 
proposed CGP decision, as reflected in document GPA/ACC/GBR/32/Rev.1, was final.   
1.2.  For full transparency, the Chair drew the Parties' attention to two minor editorial changes that 
would need to be made in the Decision to be circulated after adoption: (i) 7  October 2020 would be 
indicated as the date of adoption of the decision; and (ii) the square brackets in paragraph 2(b) 
around the indicated time -period of six month for the United Kingdom  to deposit its instrument of 
accession would be removed.  
1.3.  The Committee adopted  the decision on the accession of the United Kingdom in its own right 
with those editorial changes.  
1.4.  The representative of the United Kingdom  thanked all Parties for the adoption of the Decision 
on the Accession of the United Kingdom to the Government Procurement Agreement in Its Own 
Right. This marked yet another significant step regarding the United Kingdom's accession to the 
Agreement. As a signatory to the original Agreement in Marrakesh, in 1994, the United Kingdom 
had long supported the deal and that was why it had submitted its formal accession application in 
June 2018.  
1.5.  With total GPA coverage worth over £1.3 trillion, the adopted Decision meant that businesses 
of all sizes, from across the United Kingdom, would continue to benefit from new opportunities in 
markets across the globe. Importantly, the GPA ensured that Unit ed Kingdom businesses could 
 
1 WTO/AIR/GPA/22, dated  25 September 2020.  GPA/M/80  
 
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  compete in covered foreign procurement markets on a level playing field with domestic businesses. 
GPA rules ensured transparency and fair treatment, as well as legal recourse between the Parties. 
The United Kingdom's commitment to the deal was demonstrated by the scale of its own market 
access offer, equating to coverage worth £68 billion. Indeed, when the United Kingdom would join 
as a Party in its own right, the coverage within its offer – based on the United Kingdom's analysis  of 
the 2018 data - would represent the second largest offer of any individual country that participated. 
The Decision represented a commitment by the United Kingdom to businesses in all GPA Parties and 
real, shared economic benefit.  
1.6.  None of this would hav e been possible without strong cooperation from existing Parties. The 
United Kingdom therefore paid tribute to the Parties for their constructive approach throughout the 
accession, and for engaging in good faith. This had enriched the United Kingdom's unde rstanding of 
the Agreement and prepared it well to make a full and positive contribution to the work of the 
Committee in its own right. During the time it had taken to reach this point, the United Kingdom 
and the Parties to the Agreement, had benefited fro m the wisdom of two Chairs and two Secretaries 
to the Committee. The United Kingdom extended its sincere thanks to the Chair. He also expressed 
appreciation to the GPA Secretariat staff for their consistent expertise throughout the process.  
1.7.  The Decision on ce again marked Parties' shared belief that the United Kingdom's continued 
participation in the deal was to the benefit of all. It paved the way for the United Kingdom to deposit 
its instrument of accession 30 days before the end of the transition period b etween the United 
Kingdom and the European Union, to enable its independent membership to take effect on 
1 January  2021. When that would happen, the United Kingdom would have delivered its 
longstanding joint objective of ensuring continuity for businesses in the United Kingdom and all 
Parties.  
1.8.  As a full Party, the United Kingdom would continue warm cooperation with all the Parties and 
would deliver on the commitment to update its schedules under Article XIX early in the new year. 
The United Kingdom looked f orward to becoming a constructive participant in discussions across all 
issues in the Committee, including on accessions, as well as regular agenda items including 
sustainable procurement, small businesses, and information -sharing initiatives.  
1.9.  The represen tative of the European Union  welcomed the agreement of all the GPA Parties on 
the accession of the United Kingdom to the GPA as a Party in its own right. This accession had been 
a long and difficult process, carried out in a period full of uncertainties an d tensions for international 
trade. Yet, the Parties had managed to succeed, thanks to the commitment and flexibility of all GPA 
Parties and with the precious support of the Chair and the Secretariat. This achievement showed, 
once more, that the GPA Commit tee was able to deliver excellent results, even under the difficult 
circumstances of the Covid -19 crisis and the obstacle of not being able to meet in person.  
1.10.   The European Union was proud of its contribution to that success. It had always been on the 
side of a seamless transition in that difficult process. With an open mind and flexibility, the European 
Union had helped all GPA Parties and the United Kingdom to overcome the many obstacles faced 
along the process. The European Union had done its job and was looking forward to working with 
the United Kingdom in the GPA Committee. There were many important issues that the Parties had 
to deal with, from accessions to the work programmes. The European Union looked forward to the 
United Kingdom making valuable con tributions to the advancement of those files.  
1.11.   The representative of the United States  welcomed the adoption of the Decision on the United 
Kingdom's accession to the GPA in its own right and  thanked the United Kingdom for its statement. 
The United Kingdom had put a great deal of effort into the process over the last two years and had 
continued to engage Parties on all technical details and process -related matters in this unique 
accession. The  United States looked forward to seeing the United Kingdom's updated market access 
schedule which was reflective of all changes of government adjustments. This updated market access 
schedule would provide necessary transparency for all businesses wishing t o have access to GPA -
covered procurement of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was a large and important market 
for GPA suppliers. As noted by the representative, the United Kingdom would have the second largest 
market of any individual GPA country. Th e United States was confident that the United Kingdom 
would continue to be an active GPA participant and make valuable contributions to the Committee.  GPA/M/80  
 
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  1.12.   The representative of Japan  welcomed the adoption of the Committee's Decision on the United 
Kingdom's acc ession to the GPA in its own right and hoped that the procedure of ratification of the 
GPA within the United Kingdom would be carried out without delay.  
1.13.   The representative  of Australia  congratulated the United Kingdom on the important milestone 
achieved, a nd said that it valued the constructive manner in which the United Kingdom had engaged 
with Australia. The United Kingdom joining the GPA in its own right was important to ensure certainty 
and continuity for businesses in accessing the United Kingdom's sig nificant government procurement 
market. Australia hoped that the United Kingdom could deposit its instrument of accession in a 
timely manner, following which it could promptly rectify its Annexes 1 to 3 to Appendix I of the 
Agreement to ensure the clarity of the United Kingdom's commitments. Australia looked forward to 
cooperating closely with the United Kingdom in the future work of the Committee.  
1.14.   The representative of Switzerland  congratulated the United Kingdom on its accession to the 
GPA in its own righ t. It was understood that continued engagement within the GPA had been a high 
priority for the United Kingdom and the GPA Parties in the last two years and the decision was again 
an important achievement in that respect. Switzerland thanked the delegation of the United Kingdom 
but also other delegations for their constructive and pragmatic efforts in the accession process. 
Switzerland looked forward to cooperating closely with the United Kingdom in the future work of the 
Committee.  
1.15.   The representatives of New Zealand ; Hong Kong, China ; the Republic of Korea  and Chinese 
Taipei  warmly welcomed the adoption of the decision and congratulated the United Kingdom in 
reaching this important milestone. They expressed their wish to continue working constructively and 
collaboratively with the United Kingdom on GPA matters.  
1.16.   The representative of Canada  said that her delegation was delighted that Parties had adopted 
a positive decision concerning the United Kingdom's  accession to the GPA in its own right. Ensuring 
that the  United Kingdom  remained a Party to the GPA had always been a key priority for Canada. In 
terms of next steps, Canada looked forward to continuing to collaborate with the United Kingdom 
and reviewing its updated market access schedule in the new year.  
1.17.   The representative of Ukraine  expressed deep appreciation to the United Kingdom for its 
enormous efforts to join the GPA family. It was a great pleasure and honour for Ukraine to collaborate 
with the United Kingdom’s delegation. Ukraine would be delighted to s ee the United Kingdom as a 
full member of the Agreement soon. In addition, Ukraine cordially invited the United Kingdom's 
delegation to participate in the work programme on statistics and other ongoing activities of the 
Committee.  
1.18.   The representative of Singapore  joined others in welcoming the adoption of the Decision and 
congratulating the United Kingdom. This was an important milestone and ensured certainty and 
continuity of access into the United Kingdom's GPA market for businesses. Singapore thanked the 
United Kingdom's representative for his statement. His delegation looked forward to the United 
Kingdom engaging constructively and contributing to the work of the Committee. Singapore also 
looked forward to welcoming the United Kingdom as a full Party to t he GPA in its own right in 
due course.  
1.19.   The representative of Norway  joined others in congratulating the United Kingdom for the 
Committee's decision on its accession to the GPA in its own right. He thanked the United Kingdom 
for all its efforts in the acce ssion process, and said his delegation looked forward to cooperating with 
the United Kingdom in the future work of the Committee.  
1.20.   The representative of the United Kingdom  thanked all delegations for their warm and 
constructive comments and reiterated the U nited Kingdom's thanks to all for their constructive way 
of engaging with his delegation during the process. The United Kingdom looked forward to working 
with the Parties as a full member in the new year.  
1.21.   Summarizing the discussion, the Chair joined the Parties in welcoming this further positive 
step. The Committee had yet again come together in constructive and pragmatic ways to ensure 
continuity in the United Kingdom's participation in the GPA. The Committee looked forward to 
receiving the U nited Kingdom's instrument of accession in the near future.  GPA/M/80  
 
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  2  PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AS OBSERVER – 
CÔTE D'IVOIRE  
2.1.  The Chair recalled that a written notice regarding participation of Côte d'Ivoire in the Committee 
on Governme nt Procurement as observer had been circulated at the request of the delegation of 
Côte d'Ivoire on 10  July 2020 (document GPA/153). During the plenary session on 21  July 2020, the 
Committee had taken note of the request for observer status by Côte d'Ivoir e, pursuant to the 
relevant provisions of the Agreement on Government Procurement. An initial statement by Côte 
d'Ivoire had also been delivered. Given that at the last meeting, the particular circumstances had 
not permitted the participation of a capital -based delegation, he had invited Côte d'Ivoire to address 
the Committee again, from the capital Abidjan, at this meeting.  
2.2.  The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  thanked the Chair for the opportunity to convey to the 
Parties to the Agreement Côte d'Ivoire's sa tisfaction with becoming an observer to the GPA 
Committee. He expressed the gratitude of the Regulatory Council of the National Government 
Procurement Regulatory Authority (ANRMP), as well as that of all domestic government procurement 
stakeholders and par tners, to the Secretariat of the Committee on Government Procurement for its 
significant contribution to the national GPA workshop held in Abidjan on 30 and 31 October 2019. 
That workshop, in addition to the support provided, had contributed to and facilit ated, the process 
of obtaining his country's status of observer to the Committee.  
2.3.  He recalled that, in order to transpose West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) 
Directives No. 04 and No. 05 and, above all, to permanently remedy the shortcomings a nd gaps 
identified during various reviews of the Ivorian government procurement system, a general revision 
of the 2009 Government Procurement Code had been necessary. This revision had been 
accomplished through the adoption of Ordinance No.  2019-679 of 24  July 2019 on the Government 
Procurement Code . This Code had introduced a number of innovations relating to the awarding, 
monitoring and regulation of government contracts. Those innovations sought to strengthen the 
principle of open, fair and transparent c onditions of competition, as also prescribed by the GPA.  
2.4.  The principle of separation of the functions of awarding, monitoring and regulating government 
contracts had been clearly affirmed. These three functions were therefore each performed by a 
separate e ntity: the contracting authorities, the administrative structure responsible for monitoring 
government procurement, and the ANRMP. This principle contributed to the transparency of 
government procurement and aimed to ensure that it was effective. The intro duction of new types 
of government contract, such as framework agreements, service -level management and 
maintenance (Genis) contracts, turnkey contracts, design -build contracts, design -build-operate -
maintain (DBOM) contracts, multi -phase government contrac ts and innovation contracts, had also 
contributed to improving the effectiveness of the government procurement system. Awarding 
contracts electronically (paperless procedures) had been introduced as a principle, and the platform 
dedicated to this was curre ntly under development. Provisions defining sustainable government 
procurement and integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) were now part of the criteria for 
awarding government contracts, so that the social well -being of employees and respect for  the 
environment were taken into account.  
2.5.  Indicators relating to government procurement in Côte d'Ivoire had been steadily progressing 
over the last 10  years.2 This had particularly been the case for approved contracts, the value of 
which had risen from C FAF 143 billion in 2011 to CFAF 1,318 billion in 2019. The consumption rate 
of budget appropriations for public investment spending had been above 80% in 2017 and 2018, 
which was higher than the average consumption rate of spending in countries in the WAEM U area.3  
2.6.  The ANRMP was an excellent tool of governance that had been created 11 years ago and 
strengthened by receiving the status of Independent Administrative Authority under Ordinance No. 
2018-594 of 27  June 2018. Its council consisted of 12 members and was tripartite and egalitarian 
in composition, with public administration, the private sector and civil society each represented by 
four members. This ensured transparency in government procureme nt procedures. Candidates and 
bidders who believed that they had been unfairly treated could lodge a formal appeal against any 
decisions, actions or events that caused them harm. They could do so before the non -judicial bodies 
 
2 The delegation displayed graphs for each of the indicators referenced on -screen during the statement. 
See the Annex to the minutes.  
3 West African Economic and Monetary Union (eight Member States).  GPA/M/80  
 
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  of the ANRMP once other chann els of appeal had been exhausted. The increase in the number of 
decisions handed down by the ANRMP from three in 2010 to 91 in 2020 was a positive reflection of 
the trust that companies had in the transparency of the government procurement system in 
Côte d'Ivoire.  
2.7.  Becoming an observer to the Committee reflected the determination of the government of 
Côte d'Ivoire to ensure that its procurement practices met international standards, in keeping with 
its ambitions to become an emerging economy. Moreover, as th e leading country in the WAEMU area 
and an important member of ECOWAS4, Côte  d'Ivoire's status as an observer to the Committee 
should be considered as an opening up of government procurement in these two sub -regional areas 
to investors from Parties of the  GPA.  
2.8.  The representative of the United States  welcomed Côte d'Ivoire's participation in the 
Committee as an observer and expressed her delegation's hope that interest in the Agreement would 
continue to grow among African countries. By becoming an observer , Côte d'Ivoire would have the 
opportunity to learn more about the GPA and international standards in procurement. The United 
States also thanked the representative of Côte d'Ivoire for providing an overview of their domestic 
procurement provisions and of the transparency those brought to Côte d'Ivoire's procurement 
practices. The United States looked forward to working with Côte d'Ivoire and hoped that it would 
consider the opportunity to pursue full GPA membership in the future.  
2.9.  The representative of the  European Union  said that as indicated in the Committee's meeting in 
July 2020, his delegation welcomed Côte d'Ivoire's participation in the Committee as an observer. It 
was very encouraging to have a third African country in the group of observers to the Committee. 
The European Union encouraged Côte d'Ivoire to continue its ambitious efforts to modernize its 
government procurement legislation and to increase transparency and competition in the award and 
execution of government procurement contracts. The Eu ropean Union  considered that observer 
status paved the way for the sharing of views and experiences on the benefits of complying with the 
rules and principles of the GPA. As demonstrated by the most recent accessions, becoming a full -
fledged Party to the G PA on mutually satisfactory terms could be achieved quickly and effectively.  
2.10.   The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  thanked both delegations for their encouraging remarks. 
Côte d'Ivoire was using the momentum for ongoing reform to enhance the quality of its procurement 
legislation and improve its institutional framework. It had undertaken a range of technical assistance 
activities for all relevant stakeholders, and the five -year plan by the government to encourage 
investment in the economy would open up impor tant business opportunities for suppliers from GPA 
Parties.  
2.11.   The Chair  stressed once again the importance that the Committee attached to the growing 
number of observers to the Committee, and to strengthening African representation in it. He strongly 
encoura ged Côte d'Ivoire to participate actively in the Committee's work. He congratulated Côte 
d'Ivoire on all the reforms it had undertaken as well as those under way to align its government 
procurement system with international best practices. The Secretariat stood ready for any further 
useful technical assistance.  
3  OTHER BUSINESS  
3.1.  The Chair  recalled that the date for the end of the year housekeeping meeting had initially 
been set for 18  November. However, due to the current limited availability of meeting rooms with 
the capacity to accommodate both in -person and virtual attendance via Interprefy as the standard 
platform used for formal meetings in the WTO, that date was no longer available. The only other 
date available was Thursday, 26  November. Participation by  Geneva -based officials would suffice for 
the housekeeping meeting. The Chair expressed the hope that the new arrangement could be 
accommodated by Parties. No Party objected to the proposed date.  
3.2.  The Chair reserved the possibility of scheduling additional short meetings, to be attended by 
Geneva officials only, as necessary to respond to contingencies that might arise.  
 
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4 Economic Community of West African States (16 Members).  GPA/M/80  
 
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  ANNEX  
GRAPHS SHOWN DURING COTE D'IVOIRE'S STATEMENT5 
Figure 1 
 
 
 
Figure 2 
 
 
 
5 Please note that the o riginal graphs were  shown  in French.   
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  Figure 3 
 
 
 
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