RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/86  
 
12 July 2023 
(23-4697) Page: 1/9 
Committee on Government Procurement    
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMAL MEETING OF 7 JUNE 2023  
CHAIR: MR MARTIN ZBINDEN ( SWITZERLAND)  
The Chair opened the meeting by noting that, in preparation for the meeting, delegations had 
received an Airgram ( WTO/AIR/GPA/28 ) setting out th e proposed agenda, and an Annotated Agenda 
(ICN/GPA/6/Add.1 ). The proposed agenda for the meeting was as follows:  
 
1.  Adoption, by the Committee, of its revised draft decision on North Macedonia's accession 
to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA 2012) ( GPA/ACC/MKD/14/Rev.2 );  
2. Observership in the Committee: statements related to the recent inclusion of the 
Dominican Republic and the European Bank for Re construction and Development (EBRD); 
and 
3. Other business, if any.  
No items of other business were proposed by delegations.  
The Committee adopted  the agenda as proposed by the Chair.  
1  ADOPTION, BY THE COMMITTEE, OF ITS REVISED DRAFT DECISION ON 
NORTH  MACEDONIA'S ACCESSION TO THE GPA 2012  
1.1.  The Chair  recalled that, pursuant to a commitment that it had undertaken in 2002 in the course 
of its accession to the WTO ( WT/ACC/807/27 , para. 177), North Macedonia had applied for accession 
to the GPA 2012 in 2017 ( GPA/143 ) and had submitted relevant supporting documentation short ly 
thereafter. North Macedonia's accession had been discussed at the Committee's meetings held in 
2018 and 2019. Although Parties had expressed their overall strong support for this accession, some 
had also reiterated outstanding concerns regarding the app roach to be followed. Towards the end of 
2022, the Parties and North Macedonia had reached agreement on the approach to follow. In 
September 2022, North Macedonia had circulated a revised market access offer (referred to by 
North  Macedonia as its "Final Of fer") ( GPA/ACC/MKD /4/Rev.1  and Corr.1). In October 2022, in the 
absence of a Committee chair, several Parties had submitted a proposal to make further progress 
on North  Macedonia's accession through a written procedure. The Committee had adopted the 
proposal on 31 October 2 022. Pursuant to the agreed procedure, on 30 December 2022, the GPA 
Parties had reached agreement in principle on the terms of North Macedonia's accession. On 
4 January 2023, the Secretariat had circulated a draft Committee decision on North Macedonia's 
accession ( GPA/ACC/MKD/14 ). On 1 February 2023, an updated version of the draft decision had 
been circulated to reflect comments received fr om delegations ( GPA/ACC/MKD/14/Rev.1 ). On 
24 March  2023, a further updated version of the draft decision had been circulated 
(GPA/ACC/MKD/14/Rev.2 ) and the Secretariat had informed the Committee that no GPA Party had 
come forward before the deadline indicating its inabili ty to secure the necessary internal approvals 
for the formal adoption of the Committee draft decision inviting North Macedonia to accede to the 
GPA 2012. Under the agreed procedure set out in ICN/GPA/5/Add.5 , it had been therefore 
understood that all GPA Parties were ready to proce ed to the next stage, i.e. the formal adoption of 
the draft Committee decision. No delegation had signalled any difficulty regarding the adoption, at 
the meeting, of the revised draft decision on North Macedonia's GPA accession.  GPA/M/86  
 
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  1.2.  The Committee adopted  the revised draft Decision regarding the accession of North Macedonia 
which had been circulated as document GPA/ACC/MKD/14/Rev.2  with its attachments (the adopted 
Decision was subsequently circulated as GPA/CD/4).  
1.3.  On behalf of the Committee, the Chair congratulated the deleg ation of North Macedonia on 
reaching this important milestone. The Chair further recognized the constructive spirit, persistence, 
flexibility and positive engagement that had been demonstrated by the North Macedonian delegation 
throughout the process of it s accession negotiations. The Chair also thanked the Parties to the 
Agreement for their creative and pragmatic approach and for their willingness to find and enable 
solutions where the negotiations had required it. Finally, the Chair thanked his predecesso r, 
Mr Carlos Vanderloo, for the efforts he had put into helping the Committee prepare for and come to 
the Decision. The Chair also highlighted the systemic significance of North Macedonia's accession to 
the GPA 2012. North Macedonia's accession sent a stro ng signal to the region and beyond about 
market opening, transparency and good governance in government procurement, and it showed a 
pathway to other Members wishing to follow in North Macedonia's footsteps. As Committee Chair, 
he was looking forward to en gaging with North Macedonia as a full GPA 2012 Party once the 
Agreement entered into force for North Macedonia, which hopefully would be very soon.  
1.4.  The representative of North Macedonia,  Ms Razmena Cekic -Durovic, Secretary of State at the 
Ministry of Econ omy of North Macedonia, expressed her government's gratitude to all Parties for the 
adoption of the Decision on the Accession of North Macedonia to the GPA 2012. This Decision marked 
a significant step for North Macedonia’s accession to the GPA 2012. It ha d been a long journey, but 
her delegation was happy to have successfully reached this important milestone. In the Report for 
its accession to the WTO  in 2002, North Macedonia had committed to initiate negotiations for 
membership to the GPA ( WT/ACC/807/27 , para. 177). In June 2013, Nort h Macedonia had obtained 
an observer status in the Committee and in March 2017 it had officially applied for accession to the 
GPA 2012 ( GPA/143 ). During the past five years, North Macedonia had shown that it honoured this 
commitment, not only by words, but also by action, actively engaging with the GPA Parties regarding 
its market access offer, its Annexes and identifying creative solutions that would address the 
concerns of different Parties. Today’s Decision represented a commitment by North Macedonia to 
provide a level playing field for f oreign and domestic businesses and to share the economic benefits 
from government procurement by procuring entities listed in its market access offer (at the central, 
sub-central, and other levels of government (including public -private partnerships)). She  said that 
North Macedonia had a transparent and non -discriminatory government procurement system in line 
with international best practices. North Macedonia had already developed a comprehensive 
government procurement law in line with the 2014 EU Directive  on Public Procurement and had 
achieved full harmonization with the GPA 2012. Of course, this would have not been possible without 
strong cooperation from existing GPA Parties, their constructive approach throughout 
North  Macedonia's accession and their en gagement with North Macedonia in good faith. In addition, 
she expressed her delegation's appreciation to the CGP Secretariat staff for their expertise 
throughout North Macedonia's accession process, and her delegation's gratitude to the EBRD for the 
contin uous support they had provided to North Macedonia in the accession process.  
1.5.  Continuing, she said that considering the global context and the overall international economic, 
commercial, and political relations between WTO Members, it was of particular impor tance for 
Members to further promote cross -border trade and to open up government procurement markets, 
thus contributing to increased liberalization, integration and transparency of a bigger number of 
Members in the framework of the GPA 2012. From now, Nor th Macedonia's commitment stood to 
promptly accomplish the domestic ratification procedure and to deposit its instrument of accession 
to the GPA 2012 consistent with the terms of the Decision. North Macedonia looked forward to 
becoming a constructive parti cipant in the Committee and to actively participate in all issues on the 
regular agenda, including supporting new accessions to the GPA.  
1.6.  The representatives of the European Union , the United States , Japan , Montenegro , Australia , 
New Zealand , Ukraine , Chinese Taipei , Switzerland , the Republic of Moldova , the United Kingdom , 
Singapore , Canada , the Republic of Korea , Norway , and Hong Kong, China  took the floor to 
congratulate North Macedonia for having successfully completed its GPA accession process and to 
state that they looked forward to welcoming North Macedonia as a full -fledged Party to the 
Agreement. The Dominican Republic and EBRD also congratulated North Macedonia.  
1.7.  Continuing, the representative of the European Union  added that her delegation had thr oughout 
the process underlined on several occasions the importance of this accession. The European Union GPA/M/86  
 
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  considered that the accession of North Macedonia to the GPA 2012 would make a positive 
contribution to further international opening of government proc urement markets and would 
encourage further accessions in the region. The European Union appreciated the final offer of 
North  Macedonia, considering its economically meaningful and comprehensive coverage in terms of 
entities, goods, services and constructi on services. The European Union reiterated its positive 
opinion on the draft decision on the accession of North Macedonia to the GPA 2012 proposed by the 
Secretariat. The final market access offer of North Macedonia mirrored to a large extent the 
European  Union's Annexes to Appendix I to the GPA 2012. There was thus no need for introducing 
any reciprocity, specific restrictions or carve -outs from the European Union's GPA 2012 market 
access commitments. Specific adaptations to the European Union's Appendix I  Annexes following 
the accession of North Macedonia to the GPA 2012 had been included in the draft decision. These 
adaptations had been approved by the Council of the European Union on 20 March 2023. In addition, 
in the current geopolitical context, the ac cession of North Macedonia to the GPA 2012 would send a 
strong message to the region. The European Union encouraged North Macedonia to deposit its 
instrument of accession rapidly so that the GPA 2012 could enter into force for North Macedonia as 
soon as po ssible. To conclude, the European Union expressed its appreciation to the delegation of 
North Macedonia for its efforts in its accession process and looked forward to the active participation 
of North Macedonia in the future work of the Committee.  
1.8.  The repr esentative of the United States  thanked the North Macedonian delegation for the 
support it had put behind its GPA accession. The United States wanted to commend the hard work 
put in by the North Macedonian delegation over the last several years. North Mace donia had stayed 
fully engaged with GPA Parties to solve any market access concerns despite a lack of in -person 
meetings due to the COVID -19 Pandemic and then a lack of full Committee meetings. 
North  Macedonia's dedication, constant engagement, and willing ness to find constructive solutions 
had been very much appreciated. She was confident that once they deposited their instrument of 
acceptance and implemented the GPA 2012, North Macedonia would continue to a be constructive 
Party in all Committee discussio ns and Work Programmes. North Macedonia had started its accession 
with a strong market access offer that was very much reflective of the coverage offered by other 
Parties. It had worked with Parties to address any concerns in its offer and the United State s hoped 
that, moving forward, other acceding candidates would provide the level of ambition seen in 
North  Macedonia’s final market access offer. The United States stood ready to work with 
North  Macedonia on GPA implementation, ensuring that North Macedonia  was able to fully realize 
not only the benefits related to transparency, anti -corruption, predictability, and enhanced 
government procurement processes, but also ensuring that North Macedonia’s companies were able 
to harness the important commercial benef its of the GPA 2012.  
1.9.  The representative of Japan  recognized that North Macedonia had offered a high level of market 
access. Her delegation was happy to see that the only remaining concern that had been raised by 
several Parties, including Japan, had finall y been resolved after more than five years of negotiations. 
Japan hoped that North Macedonia's domestic procedure for its accession to the GPA 2012 would go 
smoothly, and that this Decision would have a positive impact on other accession negotiations.  
1.10.   The representative of Montenegro  recognized the great efforts that North Macedonia had 
invested in the process over the last five years. She also valued the constructive manner in which 
North Macedonia had engaged with Montenegro and other GPA Parties in its a ccession process. 
Montenegro further commended the constructive efforts of other delegations in the process. 
Montenegro viewed North Macedonia's accession to the GPA 2012 as clear evidence of its 
commitment to open, fair and transparent competition in gove rnment procurement and, more 
broadly, to the rules -based international trading system. This was especially so, given that the 
GPA 2012 was instrumental for national government procurement reforms, the promotion of good 
governance and the fight against corr uption worldwide. Importantly, it ensured a level playing field 
for domestic and international businesses in GPA 2012 covered procurement markets. Her delegation 
considered that North Macedonia's market access offer was comprehensive. For all of the above 
reasons, North Macedonia's accession to the GPA 2012 was considered an important contribution to 
the further international opening of government procurement markets and as an encouragement to 
other Members to accede to the GPA 2012. This took on additional  significance in the current, 
complex geopolitical context. Montenegro looked forward to cooperating closely with 
North  Macedonia in the Committee.  
1.11.   The representative of Australia  said that North Macedonia's accession was a fantastic way to 
kickstart the reinvigorated Committee. Australia thanked North Macedonia for its engagement during GPA/M/86  
 
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  the accession process, including in discussions with Australia the preceding year. Each new GPA 
accession extended the benefits of mutual government procurement trade libe ralization, which was 
at its heart the foundational purpose of the GPA 2012. Australia looked forward to continuing to 
work with other accession candidates, and to welcoming other Members that could meet the high 
standard of the GPA 2012 and provide a comp elling market access offer as North Macedonia had 
done.  
1.12.   The representative of New Zealand  joined others in acknowledging the important milestone 
reached by North Macedonia and by the Committee. Her delegation encouraged North Macedonia to 
complete its inte rnal processes as quickly as it could. New Zealand looked forward to working with 
North Macedonia in this forum on government procurement matters.  
1.13.   The representative of Ukraine  extended his delegation's invitation, as a Chair Party of the 
Work Programme on  Statistics, to North Macedonia to join the small group and to share their 
experiences and ideas.  
1.14.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  said that the significant milestone of the adoption of the 
Decision on North Macedonia's accession to the GPA 2012 not on ly highlighted North  Macedonia's 
commitment to international standards in government procurement, but also paved the way for new 
avenues of economic growth and enhanced international cooperation with GPA Parties. 
Chinese  Taipei commended North Macedonia fo r its diligent efforts throughout the accession process. 
He expressed his delegation's best wishes for North Macedonia's continued success as it unlocked 
the immense benefits that came with GPA membership, and looked forward to cooperating closely 
with Nor th Macedonia in the future work of the Committee.  
1.15.   The representative of Switzerland  said that his delegation and the other EFTA economies had 
supported North Macedonia's accession to the GPA since the beginning of the process. He recalled 
that they had exp ressed their appreciation for the valuable and ambitious initial offer submitted in 
February 2018, which had showed North  Macedonia's firm commitment to become a Party to the 
GPA 2012. Switzerland was therefore pleased that the continued engagement of Nort h Macedonia 
and of some GPA Parties had led to a positive result in the accession negotiations. He also noted 
that Switzerland and North Macedonia shared a similar approach concerning the importance and the 
relevance of the GPA 2012 and made use of the ful l potential the GPA 2012 was offering. Last but 
not least, his delegation hoped that North Macedonia's accession to the GPA 2012 would reinforce 
the attractiveness of the Agreement and motivate other WTO members to join. His delegation 
thanked the delegati on of North Macedonia for the fruitful exchanges they had had together with 
the other EFTA economies during the accession process and his delegation was looking forward to 
cooperating closely with North Macedonia in the future work of the Committee.  
1.16.   The re presentative of the Republic of Moldova  commended the hard work and strong 
commitment of North Macedonia to become a full -fledged Party to the GPA 2012. His delegation had 
had a very positive collaboration with North Macedonia with respect to this and othe r WTO matters. 
His delegation looked forward to receiving the confirmation by North Macedonia of the finalization of 
the necessary internal procedures for accession to the GPA 2012, hopefully by the end of the year. 
In conclusion, his delegation looked for ward to further collaboration with North Macedonia in the 
Committee.  
1.17.   The representative of the United Kingdom  said that this was a historic moment for 
North  Macedonia. Her delegation welcomed the high level of market access offer tabled by 
North  Macedonia and thanked the delegation of North Macedonia for its excellent and responsive 
engagement throughout the process. The United Kingdom looked forward to supporting 
North  Macedonia with its implementation of the GPA 2012, as well as to engaging on issues of s hared 
interest in the upcoming Committee meetings, including in the context of the Work Programmes. 
Her delegation had no doubt that North Macedonia had a great deal of expertise to contribute across 
the full range of CGP issues and looked forward to worki ng together with North Macedonia. Like 
others, the United Kingdom looked forward to working with other acceding candidates to continue 
to broaden the scope of this important agreement, which already delivered benefits for governments 
and stakeholders acros s the globe.  
1.18.   The representative of Singapore  said that after a hiatus of close to two years, the resumption 
of the Committee meetings was an important milestone for the Organization and he hoped that the GPA/M/86  
 
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  Decision on North Macedonia's accession to the GPA 2012 bade well for the future. As the Chair had 
pointed out, the systemic importance of North Macedonia's GPA accession for the multilateral trading 
system must not be understated, and Singapore hoped that more GPA accessions would come. His 
delegation loo ked forward to working closely with North Macedonia to deepen their bilateral trade 
and investment relationship and, as well as to its active participation in the Committee.  
1.19.   The representative of Canada  thanked the North Macedonian delegation for its cont inued 
efforts and expressed her delegation's hope that North Macedonia would be in a position to deposit 
its GPA instrument of accession soon so that the GPA 2012 could come into force in 2023. Canada 
looked forward to working with North Macedonia.  
1.20.   The re presentative of the Republic of Korea  expressed his appreciation for North Macedonia's 
efforts in the accession negotiations. He believed that accession to the GPA 2012 would be very 
beneficial for the North Macedonian economy. He hoped that North Macedoni a would complete the 
ratification process and that they could work together in the Committee as soon as possible.  
1.21.   The representative of Norway  commended the hard work and engagement by 
North  Macedonia during the GPA accession process, in times where the work had been made difficult 
by the COVID -19 Pandemic. His delegation looked forward to working with North Macedonia in the 
Committee in the  future.  
1.22.   The representative of Hong Kong, China  expressed his delegation's hope that this 
achievement would encourage and motivate other WTO Members to join the GPA 2012. 
Hong Kong,  China looked forward to working with North Macedonia in the Committee.  
1.23.   The Chair encouraged North Macedonia to deposit its instrument of accession as soon as 
possible after the completion of its internal procedures, to facilitate a prompt entry into force of the 
Agreement.  
1.24.   In addition, the representatives of North Macedonia , Montenegro , Chinese Taipei , the 
Republic  of Moldova , Singapore , and the Dominican Republic  congratulated M r Zbinden on his recent 
election as Chair of the Committee.  
2  OBSERVERSHIP IN THE COMMITTEE: STATE MENTS RELATED TO THE RECENT 
INCLUSION OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND THE EBRD  
2.1  Dominican Republic  
2.1.  The Chair recalled that, on 20 September 2022, the Dominican Republic had circulated its 
written notice to participate in the Committee as an observer ( GPA/157 ). Pursuant to Article XXI:4 
of the GPA 2 012, the Dominican Republic had become observer in the Committee on the same day, 
making it the first Caribbean Member to do so.  
2.2.  The representative of the Dominican Republic,  H.E. Mr José Sánchez -Fung, Ambassador to the 
WTO, said that one of the Dominican  Republic's priorities was to make his government actions more 
transparent, which was essential in enabling economic actors to plan. One sign of the 
Dominican  Republic's commitment to that priority was that in September 2022 it had joined the 
Committee as an observer, making it the first economy from the Caribbean region to do so. In recent 
years, the Dominican Republic had taken important steps to develop the administration of existing 
public expenditure regulations, including the Transaction Portal of the  Computerized Management 
System for Procurement and Contracts of the Dominican State, the Programme of Regulatory 
Compliance in Government Procurement, and the Preventive and Reactive Alert System.  
2.3.  The Directorate General of Government Procurement (DGCP) of the Dominican Republic was 
the key institution overseeing compliance with the rules in force concerning government 
procurement. After the Dominican Republic had become involved in the Committee, the Dominican 
Government and the CGP Secretariat had joint ly held a national seminar on the GPA 2012 for officials 
in the public sector, the private sector or in civil society. The aim of the workshop, which had been 
held in March 2023 in Santo Domingo, had been to familiarize participants with recent development s 
related to the Agreement and with the modus operandi of the Committee. The workshop had also 
provided an opportunity to discuss how to make best use of the status of observer in the Committee.  GPA/M/86  
 
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  2.4.  He thanked the Committee Members, as well as the members of the CGP Secretariat, for the 
support they had provided to his country since it had taken its first step towards observer status 
and for their dedication in ensuring the success of the Santo Domingo national seminar on the 
GPA 2012.  
2.5.  The representatives of the European Union , the United States , Ukraine , Switzerland , the 
United  Kingdom , Japan , the Netherlands with respect to Aruba , Chinese Taipei , Australia  and 
North  Macedonia  welcomed the Dominican Republic as an observer in the Committee.  
2.6.  Continuing, the r epresentative of the European Union  said that this development raised hope 
for other Members in the Caribbean region to consider observer status. Observer status provided an 
opportunity for WTO Members, such as the Dominican Republic, who were not yet GPA Parties, to 
understand better the work of the Committee, including the best practices in government 
procurement, without undertaking any immediate obligations. She encouraged the 
Dominican  Republic to persist with its ambitious efforts to modernize its gov ernment procurement 
legislation and to promote transparency and competition in government procurement procedures. 
The European Union saw observer status as a meaningful platform to exchange views and 
experiences on the benefits of complying with the rules and principles of the GPA 2012.  
2.7.  The representative of the United States  thanked the Ambassador for the updates provided on 
the procurement system in the Dominican Republic. Her delegation hoped that the 
Dominican  Republic would use its observership to lear n more about the GPA 2012. The United States 
and the Dominican Republic had government procurement commitments in the DR -CAFTA and the 
obligations that the Dominican Republic had already undertaken in this agreement should ensure 
that they were well placed  to consider GPA accession.  
2.8.  The representative of Ukraine  said that the Dominican Republic joining the Committee as an 
observer significantly expanded the geography of the GPA 2012, opening up a new region to the 
best principles in government procurement.  Ukraine stood ready to engage with the 
Dominican  Republic and to provide support during its accession to the GPA  2012, if it decided to 
pursue this option.  
2.9.  The representative of Switzerland  said that Switzerland was ready to share its experience as a 
GPA Party, which led it to consider the GPA 2012 not only as an important tool to promote open and 
transparent rules for trade in government procurement but also as a tool to contribute to sustainable 
economic growth. His delegation hoped that the Dominican Re public could benefit from its observer 
status in the Committee to get familiar with international standards in the area of government 
procurement under the GPA 2012 and maybe consider additional steps in the future.  
2.10.   The representative of the United Kingdom  praised the Dominican Republic for being the first 
CGP observer from the Caribbean region. The Committee was enriched by the presence of new 
perspectives and the representation of different regions. The United Kingdom looked forward to 
working together wi th the Dominican Republic and expanding the CGP family.  
2.11.   The representative of Japan  noted that the Dominican Republic was the first Member from the 
Caribbean region to join this Committee as observer, which gave her delegation hope to see the 
expansion of the GPA 2012 to the Caribbean region.  
2.12.   The representative of the Netherlands with respect to Aruba  said that he was pleased to see 
more representation of the region in the work of the Committee. The participation of the 
Dominican  Republic as an observer wou ld undoubtedly benefit the discussions in the Committee .  
2.13.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  said that his delegation was hopeful that the 
Dominican  Republic's observer status would serve as an inspiration for other Caribbean economies. 
By engaging in the Committee's work, the Dominican Republic could benefit from the shared 
knowledge and experie nce of the GPA Parties. Chinese Taipei looked forward to working closely with 
the Dominican Republic in the future.  
2.14.   The representative of Australia  thanked the representative of the Dominican Republic for his 
update on its domestic situation. Australia wo uld be happy to engage with the Dominican Republic 
to share any experience and insights that might be helpful.  GPA/M/86  
 
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  2.15.   The Chair  also congratulated the Dominican Republic. He hoped that this positive development 
would encourage other economies in the region to als o consider joining the Committee as observers.  
2.2  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)  
2.16.   The Chair recalled that the EBRD's request for observer status had been circulated on 
14 September 2022 ( GPA/156 ). In the absence of a Committee chair, the Committee had adopted 
a written proced ure to deal with this request ( ICN/GPA /5). Pursuant to the agreed procedure, on 
31 October 2022, the EBRD had become an international intergovernmental organization observer 
in the Committee.  
2.17.   The representative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) , 
Mr Michael Strauss , General Counsel and member of the Executive Committee, officially thanked the 
GPA Parties for accepting the EBRD's request to become an observer in the Committee. As the 
delegations knew, the EBRD was an international financial institution, based in Lond on, with the 
mission to promote transition to market economies and multi -party democracies. In particular, the 
EBRD's Legal Transition Programme (LTP), focused on the development of legal rules and the 
establishment of legal institutions that created a tra nsparent and predictable investment climate in 
the economies in which the EBRD operated. One of the key focuses of the LTP technical cooperation 
was supporting governments to help them deliver sustainable infrastructure benefiting from 
competitive markets for public contracts, and ensuring that government procurement was 
transparent and efficient so that taxpayers received better value for money. The GPA 2012 laid down 
best practices for economies wishing to have open and fair government procurement systems , 
strengthened transparency and good governance commitments, and ensured the protection of the 
environment.  
2.18.   The GPA 2012 had been recognized as the "gold standard" for trade agreements covering 
public contracts, resulting in expanded market access opportu nities, which was a very important 
incentive for economies looking to reform their government procurement framework and gain 
advantage from open and competitive government procurement markets. For its part, the EBRD had 
modelled its Procurement Policies an d Rules for the lending operations on the GPA standards from 
1996 and its LTP had been actively supporting economies in the EBRD region pursuing accession to 
the GPA since 2012. The very welcomed GPA renegotiation and subsequent adoption of the GPA 
2012 ha d motivated a broadening of its membership to transition economies. This growing interest 
in GPA accession amongst countries from within the EBRD countries of operations had demanded a 
more structured and permanent cooperation between the EBRD and the Secr etariat. As a result, the 
EBRD GPA Technical Cooperation (TC) Facility had been launched in May  2014.  
2.19.   The EBRD GPA TC Facility provided technical support to governments seeking accession to 
the GPA 2012, bo th at the negotiation and implementation stages b y: (i) advising on the preparation, 
negotiation and submission of comprehensive market access offers acceptable to all GPA Parties; 
(ii) identifying and helping to address regulatory issues related to GPA accession, including carrying 
out compliance assess ments of domestic procurement regimes vis -à-vis the mandatory policy 
standards of the GPA 2012; and (iii) supporting delegates during the GPA accession negotiations in 
Geneva. The EBRD GPA TC Facility also facilitated collaborations with other internationa l and/or 
regional organizations and academia to deliver capacity building of interest to GPA acceding 
candidates, Parties and observers.  
2.20.   The support of the EBRD GPA TC Facility was available to all economies where the Bank 
operated, and it had already ach ieved several important results. Of the six Members that had become 
GPA Parties in the last decade, three had acceded with the assistance from the EBRD: Montenegro 
in 2015, and Moldova and Ukraine in 2016. Additionally, Armenia had ratified the GPA  2012 in  2016 
and Belarus had become an observer in the Committee in 2018 with support from the EBRD. 
Currently, the EBRD GPA TC Facility was supporting the governments of North  Macedonia and 
Tajikistan in their GPA negotiations. The EBRD also looked forward to wo rking with the government 
of Albania once negotiations were reopened. The EBRD would be happy to circulate more details on 
these technical cooperation projects in the coming days for the Committee's information.  
2.21.   The EBRD GPA TC Facility had been happy to support North Macedonia in its accession process 
from the beginnings in 2017 until the formal adoption of its accession Decision. He extended his GPA/M/86  
 
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  congratulations to North Macedonia, the EBRD technical experts assisting the government of 
North  Macedonia and  all the Parties on this achievement.  
2.22.   The representative further emphasized the close collaboration the EBRD had enjoyed with the 
CGP Secretariat, particularly in the technical assistance context. This partnership had been a 
resounding success story and had been central to the EBRD's endeavour s. The CGP Secretariat's 
expertise had significantly contributed to the work of the EBRD GPA TC Facility and the EBRD was 
grateful for this fruitful cooperation and it looked forward to further strengthening their work in the 
future.  
2.23.   To conclude, he was c onvinced that the GPA 2012 had a key role to play in the sustainable 
economic growth of GPA Parties, in the quick recovery after the COVID -19 Pandemic and in 
enhancing resilient global supply chains. The EBRD was proud to support the activities of the Part ies 
and the CGP Secretariat aimed at creating fair, open and efficient government procurement markets 
for the benefit of all stakeholders. The EBRD believed that its observer status would substantially 
improve the delivery of EBRD technical cooperation and  promote government procurement reforms 
in economies that were seeking to join the GPA 2012 or that had recently acceded and were currently 
implementing the Agreement. The EBRD looked forward to enhanced collaboration with the 
Committee, the CGP Secretaria t and the aspiring GPA acceding economies.  
2.24.   The representatives of the European Union , the United States , the United Kingdom , Japan , 
the Republic of Moldova , Switzerland , Canada,  Australia , Chinese Taipei  and North Macedonia  
welcomed the EBRD as an observer  to the Committee.  
2.25.   Continuing, the representative of the European Union  added that the European Union was 
well aware of the EBRD's work and cooperation with the European Union as well as with the CGP 
Secretariat, notably through its dedicated technical coo peration programme, the EBRD GPA TC 
Facility. The European Union believed that the EBRD's observer status would facilitate and further 
enhance the EBRD's cooperation with the European Union and the CGP Secretariat. The 
European  Union looked forward to the EBRD's sustained active involvement and support related to 
the Committee’s ongoing activities and GPA acceding Members.  
2.26.   The representative of the United States  said that the EBRD had constructively engaged with 
the GPA 2012 on technical cooperation for a n umber of years and was an important partner to many 
GPA acceding candidates. The EBRD's technical assistance had been instrumental in helping 
numerous GPA Parties implement and fully realize the benefits of the GPA 2012, leading up to and 
post GPA accessio n. Her delegation expressed the hope that this engagement would continue.  
2.27.   The representative of the United Kingdom  expressed her delegation's gratitude for all the 
work done by the EBRD in building capacity for more transparent and open government procurem ent 
systems. The United Kingdom hoped to work closely together with the EBRD and other GPA Parties 
to make the most of their shared expertise and resources in assisting other economies developing 
their government procurement systems, in alignment with GPA 2012 standards.  
2.28.   The representative of Japan  expressed her delegation's appreciation for the EBRD's support 
in facilitating GPA accessions, including that of North Macedonia, through the EBRD GPA TC Facility. 
Her delegation hoped to see the EBRD's continuo us support and further activities in the area of 
government procurement.  
2.29.   The representative of the Republic of Moldova  highlighted the positive and continued 
collaboration between the Moldovan authorities and the EBRD over the years. He extended his 
delega tion's gratitude for the excellent cooperation with the EBRD within its GPA TC Facility. Moldova 
had benefited from the EBRD's expertise and capacity building activities which had contributed to 
Moldova's GPA accession and implementation of the GPA 2012. M oldova was grateful for the EBRD's 
support. It looked forward to organizing joint activities with the EBRD and to promoting the creation 
of fair and efficient government procurement markets for the benefit of all stakeholders.  
2.30.   The representative of Switze rland said that Switzerland recognized the value of the EBRD's 
role in promoting sound economic policies in its area of activity, including by promoting transparency 
and helping potential GPA members aligning their standards with international standards. H e GPA/M/86  
 
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  expressed his delegation's hope that the EBRD observer status in the Committee would further 
support such efforts in the future.  
2.31.   The representative of Canada  expressed Canada's appreciation to the EBRD for the important 
technical assistance and capacity building it had provided over the years to Members seeking to 
accede to the GPA 2012. The EBRD's technical assistance had been instrumental in increasing the 
membership of the GPA 2012.  
2.32.   The representative of Australia  noted the direct relevance of the EBRD 's valuable technical 
work, expertise and support in the government procurement space – for both past successful 
accession candidates and future prospective candidates. His delegation looked forward to the EBRD 
also sharing this expertise with the broader GPA membership as an observer.  
2.33.   The representative of Ukraine  said that the observer status of the EBRD in the Committee 
would allow expanding the opportunities to exchange on best international experiences and practices 
in the area of government procureme nt. Ukraine expressed its readiness to join the activities that 
may be organized by the EBRD.  
2.34.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  said that his delegation looked forward to working closely 
with the EBRD in the future .  
2.35.   The Chair  also welcomed the EBRD as a new international intergovernmental organization 
observer. The EBRD had actively supported the Committee's work and had cooperated with the 
Secretariat over many years, including through its dedicated technical cooperation prog ramme – the 
EBRD GPA TC Facility – which promoted and supported GPA accessions and implementation in 
countries from the EBRD's region of operation. He expressed the hope that the EBRD's observer 
status would facilitate and further improve its close and fru itful cooperation with the Committee and 
the CGP Secretariat, and looked forward to the EBRD's continued active engagement related to the 
GPA 2012.  
3  OTHER BUSINESS  
3.1.  There were no items of other business.  
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