RESTRICTED  
  
WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
10 October 2023  
(23-6785) Page: 1/18 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology  
Seventieth Session    
 
  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 17 JULY 2023  
Chairperson: H.E. Sofia Boza Martinez (Chile)  
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ................................ ................................ ....................  1 
B. REPORT ON THE CHAIRPERSON'S INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS  ..............................  1 
C. THE ROLE OF TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY IN RESILIENCE BUILDING 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE AFRICAN GROUP  ................................ ................................  2 
D. ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF 
TECHNOLOGY  ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  17 
E. POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION ON STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE 
MANDATE OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  17 
F. OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 18 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1.  The Chairperson said that the 70th Session of the Working Group on Trade and Transfer of 
Technology (WGTTT, or the Working Gro up) was convened by Airgram WTO/AIR/WGTTT/23/Rev.1 
and that the proposed agenda for the meeting was contained therein.  
2.  She asked if any delegation wished to add any other issue under the agenda item "Other 
Business".  
3.  The agenda wa s adopted .  
B. REPORT ON THE CHAIRPERSON'S INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS  
4.  The Chairperson  said that she had held a process of bilateral consultations with Members of the 
Working Group, and that all Members had been invited to participate in those consultations. Her 
report on the  consultations is contained in document JOB/WGTTT/1 , which was circulated to 
Members of the Working Group on 17 July 2023.  
5.  The Representative of Barbados  delivered the following statement:  
6.  My delegation wishes to place on record Barbados' support for the w ay that you have outlined 
the way forward. We think that this is, in theory, an incredibly important Working Group with an 
incredibly important and relevant mandate.  
7.  But as you intimated, Chair, essentially has not been given the love that it has needed fo r the 
past two decades. And we think that the way that you have set out some of the milestones going 
forward is a very intelligent way to organize our work. Experience sharing, scalable best practice 
and specific proposals I think are the way to go, includ ing cross fertilization with other WTO bodies.  
8.  As you know, Barbados chairs the JSI on MSMEs, and I note that MSMEs is also part of the 
discussion plan for this group. And if there is any way that we might also be able to collaborate with 
this group to loo k at experience sharing, we would be very open to do that as well. For small WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  economies like Barbados, I cannot tell you how important technology transfer, especially green 
technology, is in 2023.  
9.  I do not need to go into detail about the issues of the clim ate crisis that we are facing, but one 
of the constraints that we have is the ability to get the appropriate technology to invest in the circular 
economy and the inability to actually develop that kind of technology ourselves. So if there can be 
some kind of discussion here, maybe with the Committee on Environment  on green technology, that 
is something that we would be very open to.  
10.  The Working Group took note  of the statements made.  
C. THE ROLE OF TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY IN RESILIENCE BUILDING 
COMMUNICATIO N FROM THE AFRICAN GROUP  
11.  The Chairperson  recalled that this item had been included on the agenda at the request of 
Namibia on behalf of the African Group.  
12.  The Representative of Egypt , on behalf of the African Group, delivered the following statement:  
13.  Egypt is going to be presenting , on behalf of the African Group members , the submission  
contained in document WT/WGTTT/34/Rev.1 which is  titled "the role of transfer of technology in 
resilience building - reinvigorating the discussions in the WTO on trade and transfer of technology.  
14.  The objective of the submission is to examine and discuss - and maybe reveal - the importance 
of transferring technology and building resilience, especially in developing countries and LDCs. When 
I refer to developing countries and LDCs, I refer to all developing countries and LDCs who are in 
need, but specifically to the African continent. Our objective as well is to investigate techniques to 
improve communication and exchange of experience among Members pertinent to the topic.  
15.  This could happen through experience and ideas sharing. We have to identify the best ways to 
communicate those experiences and ideas among Members. Chair, you mentioned in your report 
earlier in this meeting that we need to have perspectives, or maybe to liste n to all stakeholders, 
including the private sector, research centres and anyone relevant to our discussions.  
16.  Their expertise, abilities and assets are imperative for achieving our common objective. 
Definitely the idea that this Working Group, in collabora tion with other WTO bodies, should maybe 
work towards an end, a tangible outcome in MC13. We do not have an idea what this tangible 
outcome could be, but this is something that we need to work on in this Working Group. What kind 
of outcome shall we expect at MC13?  
17.  Accordingly, discussing trade and technology transfer shall be reinvigorated and analysed 
among WTO Members to develop recommendations. And this could be taken in two steps.  
18.  I believe first has to do with the kind of recommendations that we want to produce before 
MC13; and subsequently, the elements that we would address in preparation for MC14. So two 
stages, MC13 and then MC14, where we can chart a path from ideas to concrete outcomes.  
19.  We have submitted this document as a part of a package of c ommunications tabled recently by 
the African Group that revolve around the same topic related to transfer of technology, the 
submission on TRIPS and transfer of technology, food security and transfer of technology, climate 
change and transfer of technology  etc. 
20.  And of course the idea behind the other documents, is to complement this communication and 
bring the discussion into more detailed areas where we can maybe converge. This submission is a 
follow -up to the African Group submission tabled in the General  Council held on 8 -9 March  2023 
titled "Policy space for industrial development - a case for rebalancing trade rules to promote 
industrialisation and to address emerging challenges such as climate change, concentration of 
production and digital industriali sation" contained in document WT/GC/W/868  and 
WT/WGTTT/W/33 , where the relationship between trade and technology was discussed.  WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  21.  Chair, during the 2001 Doha Ministerial Conference, there was an in -depth exploration of the 
intersection between technology tr ansfer and development. The discussions focused on how 
technology can be effectively transferred to developing countries in order to foster growth and 
progress. The topic under discussion holds immense significance, particularly in the current global 
scena rio where the crisis has intensified its relevance; and in order to enhance industrial 
development through the utilization of WTO regulations, our primary focus will centre around 
facilitating trade activities and the transfer of technological knowledge in  order to improve our 
recommendations.  
22.  The submission includes a section on the themes that we want to address. The first section is 
relative to the rules on transfer technology as we have them, in the TRIPS agreement and elsewhere; 
and it explores how re levant they are in the context of facing current challenges, like, for example, 
COVID -19 or the pandemics in general, and food security and climate change. Another theme is on 
digital technologies and their growing relevance and role in trade facilitation,  and the effects of the 
regulatory determinants of technology transfer that are worth examining as well. Third theme would 
have to do with the transfer of technology being key to building agriculture resilience and the role 
of international and regional ag riculture research centres in promoting and disseminating technology 
as they relate to food security.  
23.  WTO Members will also benefit from resetting the climate change narrative in the WTO to an 
assessment of the application of existing WTO rules on technolo gy transfer for the diffusion of climate 
change technologies. Trade facilitation is another area which is definitely affected by technology and 
digitalization. We have seen this in the discussions in the Committee on Trade Facilitation, but I 
believe that a dedicated discussion should happen in this Working Group as well, through the lens 
where technology intersects with trade facilitation.  
24.  Lastly, I would just remind that the 1998 Work Programme on Electronic Commerce  is being 
discussed. The policies and t he legal considerations for balancing accessibility to source codes has 
again to do with technology transfer. We are of the view that we have to consider that in this Working 
Group as it relates to the mandate of the WGTTT.  
25.  Our submission includes a secti on on the modalities for discussion. The document outlines 
themes for analysing the relationship between technology transfer and economic development from 
the lens of WTO provisions and agreements. Another modality has to do with exploring the vital role 
of technology transfer in boosting agriculture, productivity and production and ultimately securing 
food supplies in developing at least developed nations. Third, to explore the utilization of technology 
in facilitating trade. Fourth, exploring how technolo gy transfer could relate to the ongoing discussions 
on the reinvigorated Work Programme on Electronic Commerce , encompassing crucial aspects such 
as cybersecurity and source codes. Fourth, assessing the flexibilities in the TRIPS agreement, 
through which w e can promote technology transfer.  
26.  To tackle the pressing issues of unequal production and distribution of vaccines, therapeutics 
and diagnostics, we need to maybe run an assessment that would encompass an in -depth analysis 
of the technical assistance and  capacity building programs that donors offer, the incentives 
developed countries extend, and the most effective strategies to empower MSMEs to leverage 
technology transfer tools. The paper delves into the profound impact of patents on prices and welfare 
in developing and LDC Members through meticulous analysis.  
27.  As a calls for meticulous analysis, the document calls for experience sharing as we believe that 
Members should be encouraged to share their experience on trade and technology transfer in the 
Workin g Group and other relevant bodies, and consider exchanging information and best practices 
on trade facilitation, climate change, ecommerce, food security, IP protection and implementation 
of the flexibilities. The objective should be to make practical reco mmendations to the General Council 
and the Ministerial Conference.  
28.  Our communication also highlights the importance of collaborating with international 
organizations as it discusses how the relationship between trade and technology transfer can be 
analyse d; and it suggests considering the work done by the WIPO, the FAO and the Word Bank, 
among others. The communication touches upon the role of other international organizations, and 
we believe that they should be invited to contribute to the discussions lea ding up to the possible 
recommendations, in the run up to MC13 and MC14. The recommendations would aim at addressing WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  global challenges such as pandemics, food security, trade facilitation, e -commerce and climate 
change, and to bridge the technological and digital divides between developed and developing 
countries.  
29.  The document also touches upon the role of other stakeholders. Research centres should be 
invited to contribute. The public -private initiatives as well should be discussed, and t he role of the 
private sector should be revealed. They should contribute to our discussions, even though we are 
mindful that this Organization is Member -driven, and that their presence and contributions are going 
to inform possible approaches with respect to technology transfer as it relates to economic resilience.  
30.  As to the way forward, we believe that we should focus discussions within the Working Group. 
The Working Group's agenda was negotiated over 20 years ago. And I believe that we need to 
reorganize the agenda, maybe through the inclusion of subtitles on the e xperience sharing under 
the recommendation and developing the recommendation section of the agenda. Or have a 
breakdown by topics, for example, the relationship between transfer of technology and food security. 
The purpose would be to discuss how the agree ments on agriculture, SPS and TBT enhance 
technology transfer as it relates to food security purposes.  
31.  Another section on technology transfer and trade facilitation. And the aim would be to  see how 
could developing countries and least developed countries make use of technology to implement their 
trade facilitation commitments.  
32.  A third section on TRIPS and transfer technology, within which we could discuss how to protect 
IP and at the same time implement the technology transfer provisions and objectives of  the TRIPS 
Agreement in a way that would facilitate technology transfer to developing countries.  
33.  Another section on the relationship between transfer technology and e -commerce could provide 
scope for discussing how would technology address matters pertine nt to source code and 
cybersecurity, among others.  
34.  Then a section on transfer of technology and climate change. We need to discuss how transfer 
of technology could help developing countries, addressing or adapting or mitigating the climate 
implications on their economies in a sustainable manner. Experience sharing is a cross -cutting theme 
that needs to be considered under all items.  
35.  We are not advocating to reinvent the wheel. We are seeking to reorganize the work of the 
Working Group and have focused discu ssions on each and every topic I mentioned.  
36.  The representative of South Africa  delivered the following statement:  
37.  South Africa aligns itself with the contributions made by the African Group in its submission 
entitled “the role of transfer of transfer of t echnology in resilience building: reinvigorating the 
discussions in the WTO on trade and transfer of technology” (WT/WGTTT/W/34/Rev.1) and the five 
complimentary papers targeted at the relevant WTO bodies. My delegation is fully aligned with the 
presentati on made by Egypt on behalf of the Group. These papers on technology transfer reinforce 
the African Group’s recent submission on policy space for industrial development (WT/GC/W/868, 
WT/WGTTT/W/33).  
38.  The mandate of the Working Group is to examine the relatio nship between trade and transfer 
of technology and make any possible recommendations on steps that might be taken within the 
mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing countries. This was in recognition 
that a number of provisions in the WTO Agreements mention the need for a transfer of technology 
to take place between developed and developing countries. However, it is not clear how such a 
transfer takes place in practice, whether existing mechanisms are effective to promote technology  
transfer and if specific measures might be taken within the WTO to encourage such flows of 
technology.  
39.  The African Group submissions seek to unpack these issues, thereby placing WTO work on trade 
and technology transfer in a position to contribute to res ilience building and industrial development.  WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  40.  Trade and technology transfer are inherently linked, as the exchange of goods and services 
between countries often involves the transfer of technology. Technology transfer can occur through 
various means, such a s licensing, joint ventures, and foreign direct investment.  
41.  However, the transfer of technology is not always a smooth process, as it can be hindered 
inter alia by legal and regulatory barriers, lack of infrastructure and skilled labour. Some of these 
mechanisms have not assisted to ensure equitable and affordable access to the requisite 
technologies on a fair basis due to a number of factors, including the lack of transparency in the 
terms and conditions for such access.  
42.  There is a need to therefore explo re how to develop a more conducive environment to ensure 
equitable access to technologies that are necessary to address global commons, including public 
health, food security and climate change.  
43.  This discussion is inherently cross -cutting and multi -faceted  in nature. Hence the African Group 
paper is buttressed by contributions that delve deeper into relevant considerations in the domains 
of intellectual property rights, climate change, agricultural resilience, trade facilitation, and 
e-commerce.  
44.  As part of the broader discussion on the need to channel the potential of WTO rules to foster 
industrial development and build resilience, Members can benefit from a reinvigoration of the 
discussions on trade and transfer of technology across multiple WTO bodies incl uding the Working 
Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology with a view to developing possible recommendations.  
45.  In light of existing international fora and environmental law principles, discussions in the WTO 
could focus on how to ensure a balanced and equ itable multilateral trading system that promotes 
transfer of technology to developing countries on fair and reasonable terms. This is consistent with 
the mandate of the WGTTT.  
46.  My delegation has advocated for a more balanced and equitable system that promot es the 
transfer of technology to developing countries on fair and reasonable terms. This is consistent with 
the mandate of the Working Group on Technology Transfer which was established to promote the 
transfer of technology to developing countries, and to ensure that IP protection does not hinder 
access to essential medicines and technologies.  
47.  In the African Group paper on policy space for industrialisation, we highlight the importance of 
technology and technical knowhow as essential for improving producti vity, competitiveness, 
promoting export growth and realizing the development aspirations of developing countries, 
especially in Africa. There is a need for the WTO to ensure that trade rules provide a better balance 
between protection and incentives to pro mote research and innovations on the one hand, and the 
unfolding needs of society on the other. The COVID -19 pandemic has exposed this imbalance.  
48.  Technology transfer is therefore an important policy tool to narrow the technological and 
productivity gap, a s seen in the widening digital divide. Technology transfer allows for the promotion 
of meaningful integration of developing countries in global trade. Article 8 of the TRIPS agreement 
provides that Members may take steps to safeguard the public interest in  economic and technological 
development. Articles 7 and 8 of the TRIPS agreement express the intention of the drafters of the 
TRIPS agreement to allow countries to pursue measures protecting their societal interests. However, 
Members have not developed mec hanisms to achieve these objectives.  
49.  The WTO needs to develop a framework for technology transfer, including a set of appropriate 
channels for technology transfer to ensure that it is affordable and accessible to developing 
countries. There is an urgent n eed to facilitate digital and green technology transfers to enable 
African countries to structurally transform. The TRIPS Council and the Working Group on Technology 
Transfer must, within their respective mandates, consider this issue.  
50.  This is all the more  critical in the context where highly concentrated production has hindered 
the ability of the global community to respond timeously to pandemics.  
51.  It is proposed that the reinvigoration of work on trade and transfer of technology commence as 
soon as possibl e in the Working Group and other relevant WTO bodies. This communication WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  compliments WT/GC/W/868 on policy Space for industrial development and will be supported by a 
number of issue -specific submissions tabled in the relevant competent bodies to ensure th at a 
holistic examination is carried out.  
52.  Finally, Chair, my delegation agrees that the discussion in the Working Group should be 
restructured, and the agenda should accordingly be reengineered to address the various topics 
contained in this document.  
53.  The Representative of Bangladesh  delivered the following statement:  
54.  The delegation of Bangladesh welcomes the Chair's report, under the previous agenda item, on 
the informal consultations regarding the future works of the WGTTT. We feel privileged to be part o f 
that consultation.  
55.  Our delegation thanks Egypt for presenting the African Group’s communication on the role of 
transfer of technology. This is an important work as mandated by Ministers in Doha in 2001. While 
our capital -based colleagues are examining t he current submission of the African group, here are a 
few preliminary remarks.  
56.  We appreciate this communication for proposing a practical approach: sharing of experience 
and ideas among Members on the role of technology transfer in resilience building, p articularly for 
trade. The submission also elaborates its objective clearly. There are several key themes identified 
by the proponents as possible fields of technology transfer and cooperation. The thematic discussions 
target priority areas like TRIPS, Pub lic Health, Trade Facilitation, Agriculture and Food Security, 
Climate Change, e -Commerce including the cross -cutting role of the ICT and so on. We are convinced 
that there will be more such topics in future as we continue discussion.  
57.  Bangladesh also beli eves that the work in the WGTTT will be complementary to the works of 
the other WTO bodies.  Our delegation welcomes the modalities proposed by the proponents to make 
progress through examination, analysis, assessment, and experience sharing on technology t ransfer 
where governments and private sectors have important stakes. Exchanges of ideas will help us make 
informed decisions. Likewise, we also appreciate the proposal for collaboration of WTO with the 
relevant IGOs, for example with FAO and WIPO. In futur e, the list could include other relevant 
organizations like ITU, ITC etc.  Proposal to listen to the academia and private sector for informed 
dialogue is helpful. However, we are mindful of the external stakeholder’s engagement in the works 
of the WTO.  
58.  On the way forward, we note that the proposal is ambitious but doable. A precise pathway may 
be worked out and agreed by Members to attain progress on this issue between MC13 and MC14, 
as pronounced by the delegation of Egypt on behalf of the cosponsors. Bang ladesh looks forward to 
working actively with the proponents and other interested delegations.  
59.  The Representative of China  delivered the following statement:  
60.  China would like to thank the African Group for their communications. We fully agree that 
transfer of technology plays an important role in dealing with the problems facing us at this stage. 
We are still working on the papers and will consult the relevant authorities in China. We are looking 
forward to hearing good practices shared by Members a nd we will actively participate in the follow -up 
discussions.  
61.  The Representative of the European Union  delivered the following statement:  
62.  The European Union thanks the African Group for the six papers it has put forward on the issue 
of technology transfer.  We are still examining these papers. Thank you Chair for the consultations 
you held, and in which the European Union was able to participate.  
63.  The European Union is open to discuss the individual papers in the relevant WTO bodies. It is 
important to share experiences on the issue, and to understand what works and what does not. 
During those discussions, we could bring in the perspective of private sector actors and of other 
stakeholders, as usefully suggested by the proponents in their paper.  WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  64.  The Representa tive of the United Kingdom  delivered the following statement:  
65.  The United Kingdom welcomes the reinvigoration of the Working Group and feels positive about 
the way forward as outlined by the Chairperson.  
66.  We thank the Africa Group for the papers and our coll eague from Egypt for presenting it.  We 
welcome the Africa Group paper. We particularly welcome the focus on experience sharing and 
building the evidence base.  We will need time to consider it - and the others circulated - in detail. 
We feel it worthwhile t o note that technology transfer is largely a private sector activity, but we are 
interested in understanding examples of state -owned technology being transferred.   
67.  Some Members may have seen the recent UK paper on voluntary licensing and technology 
transfe r recently circulated via the TRIPS Council. As the paper on IP, voluntary licensing and 
technology transfer shows, this is a subject that the UK takes very seriously and one which we feel 
there will be great value for all Members to discuss further. We ha ve shared our paper as we want 
to focus on successes and lessons learned from the pandemic, with a specific focus on the role of 
voluntary licensing and technology transfer in scaling up and diversifying production to aid equitable 
access to health product s and technologies. The UK recognises that some WTO Members are critical 
of voluntary licensing and technology transfer models and that there are issues to consider. The UK 
assesses this policy gap to be an area on which all Members can engage with, from a ll perspectives.   
68.  We would encourage all Members to engage in evidence -based discussions in this area and to 
facilitate exploration and understanding of the issues. Our colleagues touched on this, but we would 
like to know more about how the Africa Group s ee the discussion being taken forward in the WTO, 
as the papers have been submitted not only to this Working Group, but also to the General Council, 
the Committee on Trade and Development, the TRIPS Council, the Trade Facilitation Committee, the 
Committee on Agriculture, the Council for Trade in Goods, and the Council for Trade in Services. 
What does the African Group consider the role of this Working Group to be vis -à-vis these other 
committees, and how does it envisage the work being taken forward? We wel come discussions, both 
bilaterally over the summer and within this forum or others in the Autumn.  We look forward to active 
engagement from all Members on this topic.  
69.  The Representative of the United States  delivered the following statement:  
70.  The US welcome s the papers and ideas put forward by the African group. We think that each 
committee can reflect on the broad ideas and suggestions included in the papers, and we welcome 
a Member -driven, submission -led discussion first in the existing committees, based o n actual 
discrete proposals submitted by Members. And after a year or so, we can evaluate any further steps 
based on Member engagement and issues under discussion.  
71.  The Representative of India delivered the following statement:  
72.  Thank you, Chair, for your ef forts in having informal discussions which have provided inputs for 
our work and way forward. India would like to compliment the African Group for their recent 
comprehensive submissions on the role of technology transfer in resilience building in this Work ing 
Group and agreement and thematic issue specific submission in relation to TRIPS, trade facilitation, 
agriculture, food security, climate, and Work Programme on Ecommerce. We would like to thank 
Egypt for presenting the submission on behalf of the Afric an group.  
73.  Modalities for discussion as suggested in paragraph four cover a wide ambit, aspects and 
relevance of technology transfer and the enablers for technology transfer to developing countries. 
The role of technology transfer in development of inclusi ve trade and integration of developing 
countries in the multilateral trading system and global value chains cannot be overstated and 
overemphasized.  
74.  The communication suggests ways of taking this discussion further by way of experience 
sharing, collaborat ion with international organizations and collaboration among stakeholders, 
including for possible recommendation for the future and maybe an outcome at MC13. On this 
important topic of technology transfer, we should be discussing a way forward.  WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  75.  My capital  is keenly looking at these submissions for making meaningful contribution in these 
discussions going forward. Preliminary, our suggestions are as follows :  
a. Given the five other issue specific submissions by the African Group, and that those would 
be taken  up for discussion in other relevant WTO committees and bodies; the possibility 
of having a joint session, cross pollination of work could be explored, as the Chairperson 
suggested in her report.  
b. We should take a few topics for discussion to begin with. Fo r example, the suggestion for 
assessment of the application of existing WTO rules on technology transfer for diffusion of 
climate change technology, including compulsory licensing, is a very relevant one in the 
context of climate change narrative. In that topic there is a vast area to cover such as the 
technical and financial assistance and the capacity building; streamlining voluntary license 
practices to address the issues of abuse of property holder of a few on technology to deny 
access to the developing  countries; creation of patent pools; initiatives for cooperative 
R&D for developing environmentally sound technologies and sharing IPRs for such actions; 
establishing of publicly owned technology inventory; promoting innovative intellectual 
property right  sharing arrangements for joint development of environmental goods and 
services; examining the restrictive practices adopted by the multinational enterprises in 
technology transfer and how to prevent such practices; incentivization of technology 
transfer b y private entities; review of flexibilities in the existing rules and incorporating 
such flexibility that are effective in facilitating transfer of technology; adoption of 
provisions authorizing exemption from patentability on a case to case basis for inve ntion 
whose exploitation is vital for diffusion of environmentally sound technology; facilitating 
and promoting development and transfer of environmentally sound technology through 
financial and other commitments; need for creation of a trade and environme nt fund with 
the objective such as facilitating transfer of environmentally sound technology at 
reasonable prices by funding the incremental costs of sourcing both propriety and 
non-propriety environmentally sound technology through licensing and other mec hanisms.  
76.  We also agree with the suggestion made by the African Group to reorganize the agenda and 
working of the group for more meaningful discussions and outcomes. We encourage Members to 
engage in those discussions in a constructive way as, in the past, developing members had submitted 
a number of suggestions in the Working Group on steps needed for enhancing technology transfer. 
The discussions could not proceed further in view of a lack of willingness of non -proponent to engage. 
Therefore, while going f orward, we see an opportunity through this comprehensive submission for a 
constructive discussion.  
77.  The Representative of Switzerland  delivered the following statement:  
78.  Switzerland thanks Egypt for the presentation and the African Group for its communicati on on 
the role of transfer of technology and resilience building. The communication covers a wide range of 
issues, and we need more time to consider it more closely, also in relation to the additional 
communications that have been submitted by the African Group.  
79.  For there to be a real incentive for technology transfer to happen, many factors are key. Among 
others, the right infrastructure, a conducive business environment, sufficient absorption capacity, 
and last but not least, a reliable, safe and enforce able regulatory framework, including the protection 
of intellectual property rights. Ultimately, it is regularly the private sector which is the holder of 
technology, and they will decide on the basis of these and other factors whether and with whom to 
share their technology.  
80.  Nonetheless, there is still a lot to be learned on how effective technology transfer can take place 
and what kind of partnerships may promote it. Additional analysis, as well as exchanging views and 
sharing experience may be useful in order to gather and discuss evidence and get a better 
understanding on the relationship between trade and technology transfer. Accordingly, we welcome 
the fact that the communication of the African Group includes these elements. Again, it is key that 
the experience of the private sector can feed in.   
81.  It seems essential to take into account efforts that are made in other international fora in order 
to build on existing work rather than duplicate it. In this regard, we also welcome the fact that the WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  document introduced today highlights that the work carried out in other international organizations 
may serve as a basis.  
82.  The document lists a number of themes and questions that should be further analysed or 
assessed. In our view, considering the specificities of the different themes, these discussions should 
take place first and foremost in the relevant WTO bodies. Against that background, we would like to 
ask the African Group to clarify the process they have in mind or that they envisage to conduct these 
discuss ions. 
83.  The Representative of Japan  delivered the following statement:  
84.  Japan thanks the African Group for introducing their submission. While our colleagues in Capital 
are considering and examining each proposal, the invigoration of the Working Group is also  
important in the discussion of development. And it is appropriate to discuss issues and initiatives 
based on evidence and individual needs of each Member through continued experience sharing and 
good practices.  
85.  We would like to constructively engage in the discussions on how to best utilize the experiences 
in advancing discussions. The knowledge of the experts in each field is necessary and we are 
supportive for the cooperation with other committees and international organization s recognizing 
the core competence of WTO.  
86.  The Representative of Brazil  delivered the following statement:  
87.  Thank you Madam Chair for holding consultations. I would also like to thank the African Group 
for submitting their papers. They provide a wide view o n the various issues that could be addressed 
through transfer of technology within WTO.  
88.  The communication identifies several areas in which we should enhance our cooperation, within 
the WTO framework, in order to further advance our work. The latter has b een, according to the 
views of many Members, including Brazil, falling short of fully achieving the potential that was aimed 
in 1994.  
89.  It is important when addressing this issue, within the context of a Ministerial Conference, to 
remember where transfer of technology came into existence within the WTO framework. And it is a 
fundamental principle and objective of the TRIPS Agreement, according to articles seven and eight 
of the TRIPS agreement. It is a legal obligation in the terms of Article 66.2 of the TRIP S Agreement. 
And yet we have not been able to fully achieve it, at least according to the views of several members, 
particularly from the developing world.  
90.  The fact that the African group was able to table a wide array of areas in which we should be 
able t o work ahead, provides us with a roadmap for MC13. I think that is a demand that should be 
properly reflected as a main outcome for MC13.  
91.  It is also important to take into account that that was an issue on the table at MC12. We hope 
it will be properly re flected at MC13 and that we will be constantly working upon for future Ministerial 
Conferences. I also would like to thank the representative of India for the way he addressed in his 
statement that we could hold joint sessions; it is hard to see how transf er of technology could be 
addressed upon each of the specific issues that we have on the agenda. I do not see any formal 
hindrance or any formal impediment of having joint sessions. I think it would be very constructive 
for the TRIPS Council and for discus sing food security.  
92.  Another element we were happy to note in the African paper was the importance of, and that 
is aligned with what the DG had said, that she wants to open WTO for other external actors, both 
from the private sector, from civil society, bu t also from other international organizations. And I see 
a very important role to be played on this within the WGTTT.  
93.  The Representative of Singapore  delivered the following statement:  
94.  I would like to thank the African group for their papers on the role of  technology transfer in 
resilience building. I would also like to thank Egypt for introducing this paper earlier. While Singapore WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  is still studying these papers, we think that they will be useful in helping us to reinvigorate 
discussions on technology tran sfer, especially in the Working Group and to build a strong evidence 
base around this topic. Technology transfer, when implemented under the right conditions, can play 
a role in accelerating innovation through the dissemination of knowledge and ideas.  
95.  And in this regard, we look forward to discussing further with Members and learning from each 
other's best practices about how we can work together to create the right conditions for successful 
technology transfer partnerships to be formed, both by the transfe rring and receiving parties. We 
also agreed with the proponents and the Chair that it will be valuable to include external stakeholders 
and other international organizations in our conversations, given the multifaceted nature of this 
issue.  
96.  I think severa l of my colleagues have also raised this question earlier, but we had wanted to 
ask on the process, how would proponents intend to take the discussions forward? As we noted that 
the papers have been tabled to several committees. Would they be discussed in this working group 
and in the other committees in parallel? Given the limited resources faced by several missions? We 
think that it may be more effective and may be efficient to focus discussions on the sector specific 
papers in the relevant committees. Bu t of course, we always like to hear from the African Group 
about their plans for the papers. Singapore stands ready to contribute actively and constructively to 
these discussions.  
97.  The Representative of Indonesia  delivered the following statement:  
98.  While we are in the process of coordinating with relevant ministries and stakeholders in our 
capital, Indonesia commends the African Group's communication and thanks Egypt for presenting 
the paper. We would like to express our gratitude for their valuable contribut ion to the ongoing 
discussions on trade and technology transfer.  
99.  We firmly support the idea that technology transfer should be an integral part of the discussions 
across relevant issues within the WTO. We believe that technology transfer plays a crucial ro le in 
fostering inclusive and sustainable development, particularly in developing countries and LDCs. It 
not only enhances their capacity to participate effectively in global trade, but also promotes resilience 
building and economic growth.  
100.  In line with th e African Group's paper, we advocate for a comprehensive approach to 
technology transfer encompassing the exchange of knowhow expertise and technical assistance. We 
emphasize the importance of creating enabling environment that facilitates the transfer of 
technology on fair, transparent and mutually agreed terms. Indonesia recognizes the significance of 
collaborative efforts and knowledge sharing among WTO Members to promote technological 
innovation and diffusion.  
101.  We encourage the exploration of practical m easures, including capacity building initiatives and 
supportive policies to address the barriers and challenges faced by developing countries and LDCs 
in accessing and utilizing technologies.  
102.  In conclusion, the Indonesian delegation reiterates its support  for the African Group's paper 
and emphasizes the need for holistic and inclusive approach to technology transfer within the WTO. 
We look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue with all members to advance our collective 
efforts in promoting the role of technology transfer in resilience, building and fostering sustainable 
development.  
103.  The Representative of Australia  delivered the following statement:  
104.  We thank the African Group for its paper which we are still digesting as well as those submitted 
in other committees and the paper recently circulated by the UK. We agree this is an important 
topic. Trade has been a key mechanism through which new innovations in one country are able to 
proliferate globally for many centuries. So there is cer tainly a role for the WTO in this discussion.  
105.  We would like to indicate our readiness to continue to engage on this issue going forward in 
relevant WTO bodies. We need to be careful not to duplicate the same discussions across multiple 
forums. But I think we have heard some ideas this morning about how to manage that.  WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  106.  We can also support the suggestion of some other delegations for involving the private sector 
and other stakeholders in our discussion that could be particularly useful as we look at what have  
been some successful examples of technology transfer taking place globally. This can be a difficult 
discussion to have in the abstract. So I think the more that we can focus in on some concrete case 
studies and examples, the more constructive our discussi ons will be able to be. Therefore, the series 
of papers submitted by the African Group are quite useful in setting out what are some of the key 
thematic areas of interest to developing countries for technology transfer.  
107.  The Representative of Hong Kong, Ch ina delivered the following statement:  
108.  We would like to also thank the African Group for the very comprehensive paper. While we are 
examining the paper in more detail in capital, I just wish to share two comments.  
109.  The first is that we also share the comme nts made by others about the relations between the 
discussion in this Working Group and other committees. Bearing in mind that we should also avoid 
duplication of work in the WTO. And second is just a preliminary clarification about the paragraph 
3.2 of th e paper. It mentions that digital technology plays a role in trade facilitation, and it also 
mentions the role of intellectual property protections. Against this background, we would like to have 
a preliminary response. What is the relation between trade f acilitation and intellectual property 
protections?  
110.  The Representative of Egypt , on behalf of the African Group, delivered the following statement:  
111.  My delegation thanks the Chairperson for the bilateral consultation we had. We were privileged 
to have that m eeting together with South Africa. And the discussions we had were very productive 
and informative. We benefited from those discussions and from the report, including the way forward 
and the methodology that you suggested, to proceed with the Working Group  discussions. They are 
promising, and I believe that we them, we can eventually reach a tangible outcome.  
112.  The Chairperson mentioned that it is important to have rules on trade facilitation and 
investment, as this would lead to transfer of technology. This  was shared by a number of our 
colleagues at this session. The Chair also said that we need to increase transparency on technology 
transfer, including on issues like licensing. And the delegate from the UK said that voluntary licensing 
is something that we  have to pay attention to. Compulsory licensing was mentioned by other 
delegates. Transparency has a very important role to do and play in that regard. The Chair 
additionally mentioned that technology transfer interacts with agriculture, environmental prot ection, 
climate change, and that history shows that not enough had happened over the last two decades to 
address or to advance discussions in this Working Group.  
113.  And eventually, I do not want to use this word, but I do not believe that the way we had our 
discussions in this Working Group were very productive. I believe that it is timely that we reconsider 
this and identify other avenues to reinvigorate the discussions within this Working Group.  
114.  I would like to thank all the delegates who have taken the floor. I believe everyone in the room 
has taken the floor today. And I did not expect this level of engagement at the first presentation of 
this communication.  
115.  We agree with Bangladesh that there are many more areas that would be addressed in this 
context. And that is the main idea: we presented this submission which had a broad range of areas 
to address and modalities to explore. Our communication does not contain an exhaustive list and 
we want to  have more ideas from Members. That is why we call on others for more engagement in 
terms of contributions, statements, ideas and novel solutions on how to make technology transfer 
happen, how to make transfer of technology relevant to resilience building.  I agree with the 
representative of Bangladesh, we need to widen the window of collaboration with other international 
organizations. He mentioned the ITC, and I believe there are others that could be included in the 
list. And that is something that we may have to discuss and agree here : who is exactly going to be 
invited to our discussions, and what exactly are we expecting from them?  
116.  As to the statement delivered by the representative of China, I concur experience sharing is 
very important. And again, we have been doing it in this Working Group for quite some time. And I 
remember that, at one of the past meetings of this Working Group, there were many presentations WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  from a number of countries and international organizations. But I remember that they were re levant 
and irrelevant. I mean that in a way they were relevant to what we do in this Working Group, but 
irrelevant to the purpose of the Working Group in terms of producing outcomes, that is the possible 
recommendations that we might want to present to our  Ministers for their consideration.  
117.  This Working Group has been endeavouring for over 23 years and yet we still have this agenda 
item on recommendations. And I do not think that I read one single document that reflects on any 
recommendation that came out o f this Working Group. Maybe I stand to be corrected. If there are 
recommendations that we submitted anywhere to our Ministers for approval, then we want to discuss 
them.  
118.  As to the statement by the EU, we would like to hear on the EU's perception, how woul d 
technology transfer take place. How trade and transfer of technology can bring benefit to developing 
countries. I believe most of the African Group Members trade patterns are characterized by more 
weight to the EU in terms of exchanges. Therefore, we cal l on the EU to contribute with us, engage 
with us and I am sure they will do it. If only in terms of making transfer of technology beneficial to 
developing countries and more effective in terms of building resilience.  
119.  We welcome the UK paper on voluntary l icensing, and we would like to see how to work with 
the UK in terms of considering possible points of intersection and in terms of the role of voluntary 
licensing and technology transfer. We will be willing to have a bilateral with the UK and discuss 
further on how to make that approach.  
120.  A number of delegates asked the question how would the African Group envisage taking the 
discussion forward in terms of how are we going to address those matters in other WTO bodies and 
how is this going to relate to what we do in this Working Group?  
121.  I believe that this Working Group was created to consider transfer of technology horizontally. 
And eventually, it is the responsibility of this Working Group to coordinate with other bodies. As the 
Chairperson rightly mentione d in her earlier intervention, we may have to, and we will do that 
eventually as per the methodology she explained, get together with other WTO bodies, maybe jointly 
or separately according to the topic to be discussed here in the document. You would have seen in 
our communication, that the themes could be designed on the basis of parameters identified 
paragraph 4.1.a analysing the relationship between technology transfer and economic development. 
And the intersection between what we do in this Working Grou p and what the Committee on Trade 
and Development does.  
122.  One of the reform aspects that we discussed was institutional reform. In that context, we 
called for building communication channels and bridges with other bodies. So is the Working Group 
on trade an d transfer technology going to play this role? We are aiming to steer the discussions in 
other bodies toward convergence on joint sessions. We submitted documents to other WTO bodies 
for discussion. But that might not be the focus of our discussion here.  
123.  We would like this Working Group to play its role, deliver on its mandate, coordinate with other 
bodies and maybe define the roadmap, how to proceed and how to communicate and build bridges 
with other bodies. And eventually, whenever it comes to technology  transfer, it needs to happen 
here, it needs to be reflected here and it needs to be discussed here. And we are going to proceed 
with other bodies, relevant bodies from the technical parts, technical aspects that are associated 
with their mandates.  
124.  So I in vite all colleagues to focus on the section on modalities because it says what is actually 
requested from us and how to build the bridges with other bodies in terms of communicating and 
coordinating with them with a view to having a tangible outcome throug h a roadmap.  
125.  With regard to the statement by the US, I actually did not understand what our colleague 
meant when she said that we may have to revisit this a year from now. Maybe she could clarify?  
126.  I would like to thank the representative of India for his contribution. It is productive and 
valuable. India highlighted the importance of experience sharing with a view to building 
recommendations as we proceed, the importance of us agreeing a tangible outcome to present to WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  our ministers. We are open to receivin g other ideas, building our case further, including on topics 
outlined in his statement.  
127.  Switzerland highlighted the importance of the private sector's contribution and said that the 
private sector are the holders of the technology, and they should decide what to do with it. Then, 
why do we have the patent section in the TRIPS agreement? If we are to take the view that patents 
and technology is in the hand of the private sector, then why the TRIPS agreement altogether? This 
is an existential question that w e have to address.  
128.  If you read through the history of technology transfer, a lot of technology was transferred on 
the basis of support from governments, on the basis of work that was financed by the private sector, 
but done in governments entities, resear ch institutes and bodies. The basic idea was to extend the 
findings to developing countries, especially in the area of agriculture.  
129.  We need to reconsider this, and I believe we can do a lot. Governments can do a lot when we 
call upon the private sector to come and share the information. The modalities on transferring 
technology can be explored: is it going to happen through investment? Is it going to happen through 
knowhow or exchange of expertise?  
130.  We would like to avoid limiting our deliberations by the id ea that technology is owned by the 
private sector and that the private sector is free to do whatever they want. I do not think that is the 
case. Governments regulate.  
131.  I would also like to thank Brazil and agree that we need to build the roadmap, and I wil l be 
reiterating this, because it is our duty which is rooted in the Working Group's mandate to suggest 
possible steps to increase the flow of technology transfer to developing countries.  
132.  Likewise, I would like to thank Hong Kong, China for the question o n the relationship between 
trade facilitation and IP protection. I will revert separately together with my African Group 
colleagues, to have this bilateral with you at any time and with any other interested delegation to 
discuss further about this.  
133.  Thanks also to Indonesia for your support and to Australia for your kind words. It is important 
to have the stakeholders in our deliberations, without losing sight that the WTO is member -driven. 
We call upon all Members to engage.  
134.  The African Group welcomes addit ional questions, including complementary submissions from 
other Members. The only way that would help the Working Group proceed effectively is when all 
agree that we need to do something and become constructive when reflecting. Not postponing the 
discussio n or referring the discussions to other fora. We need to be mindful of the role of this Working 
Group in reflecting and compiling the findings in an effective manner.  
135.  The representative of Canada  delivered the following statement:  
136.  Canada thanks the Africa n group for the paper and Egypt for the presentation and we took 
note of all the statements this morning. Madam Chair, as we continue our exploration of this issue, 
as we look to, for example, the paper by the African Group and, because that is absolutely not what 
is in question, recognizing the importance of technology transfer that Canada certainly supports, it 
is fundamental to situate the WTO in a broader context, to situate its role and capacities.  
137.  Relative to development banks, but also to the initiat ives that lead technology transfer that 
happen outside of the reach or the knowledge of governments, beyond the setting of the frameworks 
that incentivize those partnerships in various ways, including through the creation of enabling 
environments. And it i s also fundamental as we continue the discussion to make sure that we have 
a good, complete shared understanding of what technology transfer means. Sometimes we make 
assumptions as to what we mean by certain terms in this and other houses. So as we continu e this 
important discussion, it is important to make sure we have a shared understanding of definitions 
and concepts and again of the role of the WTO relative to everything that is out there.  WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  138.  The representative of Japan  delivered the following statement:  
139.  We understand that the objective for this proposal is to narrow the technological gap between 
developed and developing country, and also for including LDCs and integrating the developing 
countries into the multilateral trading system. We would reiterate tha t that the one -size-fits-all 
approach is not appropriate in this context.  
140.  I understand that the G90 proposal, which was already tabled in the CTD -SS, in its ninth 
agreement specific proposal looked at Article 66.2 of the TRIPS agreement on transfer of tec hnology. 
So in order to avoid the -one-size-fits-all approach, I appreciate that the proposal for the experience 
sharing is a very important approach to understand the reality, what is happening, and what is 
necessary in the discussion for this important to pic. So with that, I sought clarification as to the 
relationship between the discussion on the G90 proposal in the CTD -SS and Working Group.  
141.  The Representative of the European Union  delivered the following statement:  
142.  It is clear that technology transfer, however defined, as I say to my Canadian colleague, is a 
complex and multifaceted matter. Therefore, it is not surprising that there is no simple answer, to 
the question that a number of us have asked, of the precise d ivision of labour between this Working 
Group and the other bodies of this Organization, including the one just mentioned by my Japanese 
colleague, the CTD -SS.  
143.  I think the presentations that came from the African group were clear. I just have one question 
to my colleague from South Africa. Did I understand him correctly that there will be additional papers 
on technology transfer from the African group? Because I understood our Egyptian colleague saying 
that other Members are now welcome also to make submiss ions. And I understand that the United 
Kingdom have already done so.  
144.  The Representative of the United States  delivered the following statement:  
145.  We think that the papers should be discussed in each committee separately. And then, each 
committee will - howev er the discussion moves forward in those committees - after some time - it 
doesn't have to be a year - then we can decide how we might partner with other committees, or 
what deliverables or outcomes might be coming from those discussions. Let us see how th e member -
driven, submission -led discussion is going in the existing committees before we create new joints or 
other partnerships.  
146.  The Representative of South Africa  delivered the following statement:  
147.  Thanks to the distinguished delegates from EU for asking  the question. No, I was not 
announcing that there will be additional papers.  
148.  What I was making reference to was that the paper with the reference WT/GC/W/883 should 
be seen as a mother paper. And the other five submissions that were released, namely 
WT/GC /W/884 on TRIPS, WT/GC/W/885 in the context of agriculture and so on and so forth, up to 
WT/GC/W/888 that deal with the Work Programme on Ecommerce; these are subject -specific papers 
that build on and buttress the overarching mother paper. And all of these  should be seen in line with 
the overall series on policy space for industrial development, the Africa Group introduced in the 
General Council meeting held on 8 -9 May 2023.  
149.  To supplement on the issue around the role of the private sector as technology hol ders and 
creators vis -à-vis the role of the state; the private sector plays an important role. Having said that, 
it is also very clear that the state has played a fundamental role in many of the Members in this 
room. And I will refer colleagues to the very  interesting work from another professor, 
Mariana  Mazzucato, on the entrepreneurial state that talks about this topic in some detail. I know 
that she is one of the people that has written a lot with our esteemed DG. Perhaps in the series of 
workshops that we proposed, she could be one of the presenters that could enlighten us.  
150.  I also could refer, for instance, to legislation such as the Bayh -Dole Act in the US. And even in 
my own country, the 2019 legislation on Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly F inanced Research 
and Development Act, all of these go to show that states played a very significant role in both funding WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  and producing research in public institutions. So we should not have a view that private sector alone 
are the holders of technology. Bu t that is one of the issues that we can take up bilaterally in the 
course of our discussions.  
151.  The representative of Switzerland  delivered the following statement:  
152.  Thanks again to my colleagues from Egypt and South Africa for offering very useful 
complemen tary information. We all have different models in terms of how the state interact with the 
private sector, but certainly I am not convinced that discussing which models is better than which 
other one will be conducive to tangible results.  
153.  So I would like t o propose that we focus on what is very much welcomed in the paper, which 
is the experience sharing aspect and the evidence building aspect of the paper. And I heard about 
the Working Group submitting recommendations, creating a WTO framework for technolog y transfer. 
So it is good to hear those ideas.  
154.  I think that, and it has been said by others, the first step is to create a common understanding 
of what we mean by technology transfer. How best can we operationalize technology transfer? Which 
are the models  that work? And all of this depends on a lot of different factors. So I think this initial 
process of experience sharing and evidence building is a first step and is very important to 
consolidate this bedrock before we enter into discussions on possible re commendations and next 
steps. So I would propose that we focus on that aspect for the time being.  
155.  The representative of Brazil  delivered the following statement:  
156.  As a reaction to our distinguished colleague from the US who mentioned in her statement the 
need to have a better look on each of those issues. If you take the African Group's proposal, for 
example, as mentioned during its presentation, the modalities section indicates several specific areas 
that they intend to address. And if we look at them, eac h one of them, in most of the cases, are 
being dealt with in other committees. And I understand that we should be very respectful and 
attentive to the mandates of each specific body within the WTO. But I also would like to avoid this 
situation in which we would never address an issue because it should never be dealt with within this 
context.  
157.  When we are in the TRIPS Council and we address transfer of technology, some delegations 
say that those issues should be dealt with in this Working Group and then when  you are in the 
WGTTT, they say that we should be addressing them there. I understand that we should be very 
attentive in respect of the mandates, but I also would like to avoid the situation in which the issues 
themselves will never be addressed because i t would be very hard to put them within any specific 
single box.  
158.  And at the end of the day, as our distinguished Egyptian colleague has said, the issue of 
transfer of technology is by its very nature transversal. The transfer of technology in itself is a f ormal 
way, it is structural way, it is not the substance itself. So if we do not take this into account, we will 
never work with it.  
159.  And to some extent this may even be one of the reasons according to which we have not been 
able to advance as substantially  as at least Brazil would like within WTO for the past years on this 
issue. As I mentioned in my earlier statement, having joint sessions may be the best path to follow 
in the coming months towards MC13.  
160.  The Representative of Thailand  delivered the followi ng statement:  
161.  Thailand welcomes the proposal and supports the principle to move forward the work of the 
WGTTT and the promotion of technology transfer to developing countries and the LDCs. While capital 
is considering the proposal, preliminary, we can supp ort the thematic discussions and experience 
sharing proposal. However, we expect that there should not be duplication of work with other 
committees and activities under those committees.  WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  162.  The representative of Egypt  delivered the following statement:  
163.  We th ank Thailand, for its statement and we do not want to have duplication of discussions. 
We seek, as mentioned by Brazil, to respect the mandate of this working group and definitely to 
address technology transfer the way it deserves to be addressed. This doe s not mean we are going 
to convert the discussions here into detailed or technical discussions the way they should happen in 
the relevant bodies.  
164.  We have to view the matter based on the mandate that we have in this Working Group. And 
the mandate is very re levant. And this mandate, in reaction to Canada, was based on definitions our 
countries back then had in mind, with clear definition, perception of what technology transfer is and 
how it relates to trade.  
165.  And then why is this Working Group very important? And eventually the decision was taken to 
establish the Working Group. I believe that we need maybe to revisit what we had in terms of 
discussions and submissions that led eventually to the creation of the establishment of this Working 
Group. I believe we d o not have to reinvent the wheel in terms of redefining what transfer of 
technology is and how it relates to trade, because it is already there. And what is already there as 
well is the common perception. We had a common perception when we decided the esta blishment 
of this Working Group. We just have to focus on what we have to deliver in terms of process.  
166.  In reply to Switzerland, yes, it is going to be based on experience sharing, collaboration with 
international organizations and other stakeholders, inclu ding with respect to the private sector. Yes, 
we have different methodologies and different regulatory regimes in our countries, none of which 
could be selected to be the best. But again, let us do this experience sharing process in accordance 
with the mod alities that we presented, or we included in our submission, because in this section we 
tried to reengineer the discussions that we already have here or we already had in this Working 
Group.  
167.  In my earlier intervention, I said that in one of the meetings th ere were a lot of discussions 
on an experience sharing on matters relevant to technology transfer. And of course, all of them had 
to do with other agreements. I remember, for example, a presentation that was delivered by the 
delegate from Senegal. It was o n SPS and technology transfer, how they used technology transfer 
to advance on the SPS front. If that is SPS, so why would we discuss this here except if it is relevant 
and it relates to technology transfer? Again, as if we are trying to defer or delegate the discussions 
to other bodies on technology transfer. This means that any discussion that happened in this Working 
Group was just, and I am sorry to say it, not relevant. Was that the case? All the presentations and 
all the submissions and everything tha t happened in this Working Group was irrelevant because they 
relate to other agreements and other bodies? No. It was very relevant because it was addressed 
from the perspective of technology transfer per se and how they contribute to transfer technology 
and diffusion in developing countries. Therefore, we need to consider this and work on the basis of 
the modalities that we have in our submission.  
168.  And in my national capacity, because this was not discussed with the African group, I would 
request the Chair,  if we can ask the Secretariat to produce a stock taking report. A situation analysis, 
what was the reason this Working Group was established, and what kind of submissions that they 
received and to what extent the discussions have contributed to the purpos e and the mandate of 
the Working Group.  
169.  The Chairperson  delivered the following statement:  
170.  I am very optimistic that even if this communication was presented not so long ago, we have 
had this number of reactions and comments. That means that there is interest in this conversation, 
and we can see even some convergence on some of the ideas that we  have discussed today, for 
example, the participation of external stakeholders or increasing the cooperation with other 
committees. Therefore, I think this means that we can continue this fruitful discussion and I 
encourage you to do so. For my part, my do or is and will remain open and I will be continuing my 
informal interactions with Members as well. Delegations should feel free to contact me to discuss 
any matter relating to technology transfer.  
171.  The Working Group took note  of the statements made.  WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  D. ANAL YSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF 
TECHNOLOGY  
172.  The Chairperson  delivered the following statement:  
173.  I would like to recognize the importance of knowledge -sharing exercise in our work, and 
encourage Members to consider making country pres entations and sharing national experiences, 
highlighting through national examples, the role that trade might have played or could play in 
facilitating technology transfer. I would also like to encourage Members to come forward and share 
their experience w ith technology generation, its transfer, assimilation and absorption, and the role 
it may have played in their economic development.  
174.  The Working Group took note  of the statement made.  
E. POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION ON STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE 
MAND ATE OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES  
175.  The Chairperson  delivered the following statement:  
176.  Since a number of years, Members have discussed the room document entitled "Facilitating 
Access to Information on Appropriate Technol ogy Sourcing – A step to increase flows of technology 
to developing countries", tabled by India, Pakistan and the Philippines.  
177.  The proponents had previously informed the Working Group that they continued to work on a 
formal submission which they hoped to table in the near future. They had also stated that they 
remain open to hearing other Members' comments and suggestions so that these could be 
incorporated in a future formal proposal. The proponents had also stated that they would continue 
to work with ot her like -minded delegations so as to finalize a formal submission.  
178.  Having said this, I would like to ask the proponents as to the status of their prospective formal 
submission. I would also like to invite Members, if they so wish, to make any additional c omments 
or share views.  
179.  The Representative of India delivered the following statement:  
180.  We have been discussing this agenda for some time and today we have had very interesting 
discussion on agenda items B and C. In fact, Chair, today we have seen that six very relevant, useful 
and timely submissions have been made by the African Group on technology transfer. One of the 
submissions was discussed and there are other submissions which are in various WTO bodies.  
181.  Those suggestions, as we see, contain enough foo d for thought on steps that might be taken 
within the mandate of WTO to increase flow of technology to developing countries and the intense 
discussion was testimony to the possibilities on these submissions. Having said that, a submission 
made in past also  had very useful suggestions covering a wide ambit.  
182.  However, the latter suggestions could not be taken further due to the lack of willingness of 
non-proponent to engage on those crucial issues. In fact, at this session today, we heard the 
suggestions or th e comments that technology transfer requires some kind of right environment, 
absorptive capacities and enabling enforcement protections for IPR holders. So going forward, while 
we are working on the proposals, with the material which we have for discussion , we would like to 
hear more about these points, which are being mentioned for a very long time in this Working Group, 
as to what they constitute, what exactly is meant by them, and how these issues which are being 
mentioned are actually relevant only when  the developing countries are asking for review of rules 
or for capacity creations, or for establishing funds for capacity building and technical assistance.  
183.  It would also be very interesting to hear whether there are ways around those issues which 
are be ing raised and which have not been conducive to proceeding further in our deliberations. We 
will continue to work, and in fact we have been working as we mentioned in the last meeting also.  WT/WGTTT/M/70  
 
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  184.  But a good outcome for these discussions would be possible with th e constructive engagement 
from all the Members. And that would be possible when we start actually looking at these proposals, 
as Egypt colleague mentioned, in the earnest in which this Working Group has been constituted. 
Having said that, we would continue  to work on the proposals and formal submissions. We are trying 
to expedite that, but it has taken some time. We understand that, hopefully we would be able to do 
it in the near future.  
185.  The representative of Djibouti , on behalf of the LDC Group, delivered  the following statement:  
186.  I wanted to make a statement of a general nature. First, Madam Chair, I would like to thank 
you for your report and the consultations that you have held. You organized so that we can get some 
direction on this work. I would also l ike to thank Egypt for their presentation on behalf of the African 
Group.  
187.  Djibouti would like to associate itself to that statement made by the African Group. And as has 
been mentioned, paragraph 37 the Ministerial Declaration of Doha for the very first ti me introduced 
a mandate for the examination of the link between trade and technology transfer. Hence the setting 
up of this group.  
188.  This is something that is very important for our countries. Technological progress is very 
important as an engine for economi c growth, prosperity of our countries, irrespective of our level of 
development. Now, the speed also if you look at the quickening pace of technology, it is widening 
the gap of the countries that have technology and those that do not.  
189.  And that technologica l gap is a source of worry because often countries do not have the 
infrastructure, industrial infrastructure that is needed. They do not have the wherewithal financially 
or R&D or the national mechanisms to be able to put in place technology related polici es. For most 
of our countries, technology progress comes from the adaptation of technologies that are available 
abroad in other countries.  
190.  Hence the importance of the transfer of technology and the dissemination thereof to 
strengthen our technological capa city in our countries on this subject. International cooperation 
plays a very important role. Now, we can illustrate this role of international cooperation by an 
example.  
191.  This is something that occurred recently. As you know, with the support of the WHO an d six 
African countries, we are able to have access to a type of vaccine and the knowledge necessary for 
the production of vaccines. And also thanks to the support of the information to scientists. And when 
it comes to the future work of the WGTTT, with th e backing of the Secretariat we can carry out some 
examinations, reviews and also look at examples of technology transfer that we have also in WTO.  
192.  To make this more significant and operational, we can look at the provisions of different 
agreements within the World Trade Organization, which may, in some way, stand in the way of 
technology transfer toward our countries and propose some recommendations regarding the ways 
and means to attenuate the negative effects of these provisions.  
193.  The Working Group took note of the statements made.  
F. OTHER BUSINESS  
194.  No matter was raised under "Other Business".  
195.  The Chairperson said that the next meeting was tentatively scheduled for October  2023 before 
the Senior Officials meeting, and that updated information would be circulated as they become 
available.  
196.  The meeting was adjourned .  
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