RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/62  
 
4 November 2015  
(15-5828)  Page: 1/6  
Committee on Government Procurement    
 
 MINUTES OF THE FORMAL MEETING OF 16 SEPTEMBER 2015 
CHAIRMAN: MR JOHN NEWHAM (IRELAND) 
The Chairman said that, in preparation for the meeting, delegations had received an Airgram1 and 
an Invitation Fax2 setting out information concerning the meeting. The proposed agenda was as 
follows:  
1. Request for observer status: Seychelles; 
2. Adoption by the Committee of the previously-circulated revised draft decision on 
Moldova's accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement;  
3. Updating of the Checklist of Issues for the Provision of Information Relating to 
Accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement, incorporating the revisions 
proposed by various delegations and the Secretariat;  
4. Notification to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body (see Invitation Fax, point 
3.2 of Attachment A); and 
5. Other business, if any. 
No item of other business had been raised by delegations.  
The Committee adopted the agenda, as proposed by the Chairman. 
 
1  REQUESTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS: SEYCHELLES 
1.1.  The Chairman said that Seychelles' reques t for observer status in the Committee had been 
circulated on 25 August 2015.3 Seychelles had become a Member of the WTO on 26 April 2015, 
and its Protocol of Accession to the WTO incorporated a commitment calling for it to initiate negotiations to accede to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) as a Party within one 
year of its having become a WTO Member. Seyche lles' request for observer status was a very 
significant and welcome development for the Committee. The Committee should consider and grant observer status to Seychelles, pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Agreement. 
1.2.  The Committee agreed to grant observer status to Seychelles, pursuant to the relevant 
provisions of the Agreement.  
1.3.  The Chairman extended a warm welcome to Seychelles in its new capacity as observer to the 
Agreement.  
1.4.  The representative of Seychelles expressed his government's appreciation and gratitude to 
the Committee for accepting Seychelles' request for observer status. Seychelles had been 
implementing its Public Procurement Act only sinc e 2009, and this was indicative of the relative 
newness of the concept of government procurem ent for it. The introduction of the Public 
Procurement Act had been met with some resistance and reservations. Over the years, this 
                                               
1 WTO/AIR/GPA/4, dated 2 September 2015. 
2 inv15-3, dated 4 September 2015. 
3 GPA/W/333, dated 25 August 2015. GPA/M/62 
 
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  mindset was changing; nevertheless there was still room for improvement. The implementation of 
the Act had improved the level of transparency and accountability of the government in its 
procurement of goods and services, which had b een welcomed by the taxpayers in general. 
1.5.  Seychelles was very pleased to have joined the Committee on Government Procurement - 
albeit as an observer – upon attaining WTO membership, pursuant to its WTO accession 
commitments. As a small island state with a vulnerable economy, Seychelles had a lot to contribute to the Committee to ensure that th e needs and interests of similar economies were 
taken into consideration in the Committee's work. His delegation looked forward to participating 
effectively in the Committee, and to  learning from the expertise and experience of other Parties. 
1.6.  Given the relative newness of the concept of government procurement to Seychelles, his 
country would require technical assistance and capacity building to ensure that its Procurement 
Oversight Unit and its legislation were to the best international standard. Seychelles therefore, 
called upon Parties with the requisite expertise an d experience in addition to the Secretariat to 
provide it needed assistance in building its capacity, in order to help it graduate from an observer 
to a fully-fledged Party.  
1.7.  The representatives of the European Union, Canada, Japan, Korea, the United States, 
Norway, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Montenegro, New Zealand and Switzerland joined in warmly 
welcoming Seychelles as an observer to the Committee. They expressed appreciation that 
Seychelles had done this so rapidly after its accession to the WTO. 
1.8.  Continuing, the representative of the Euro pean Union said that it was encouraging to see 
African countries participating in the work of the Committee – albeit in an observer capacity. 
Observer status in the Committee would allow the Republic of Seychelles to familiarise itself with 
the Committee's work and to take advantage of the experience of GPA Parties with regard to their public procurement procedures. The European Unio n looked forward to the swift initiation by 
Seychelles of its accession to the Agreement as a Party, and stood ready to assist and work with 
the delegation of Seychelles in this respect.  
1.9.  More generally, the European Union we lcomed observership to the Agreement as an 
important step that allowed a WTO Member to get better acquainted with both the provisions of 
the Agreement as well as the market access commi tments of the Parties. Of the 30 WTO Members 
participating in the GPA Committee as Observers, ten were in the process of acceding to the Agreement. In addition, a number of other observers had outstanding commitments to initiate 
negotiations. The European Union considered ve ry important the commitments that had been 
made by some Members with regard  to GPA accession, as part of their respective WTO Accession 
Protocols. It looked forward to working with rele vant WTO Members with the hope of providing any 
needed support to facilitate the activation, in the near future, of their respective accession 
processes. 
1.10.  The representative of Canada said that Cana da stood ready to assist Seychelles in its effort 
to accede quickly to the Agreement. This wo uld be a very good example not only for the 
Committee, but also for African Members of the WTO in general. Canada echoed and underlined in this respect the European Union's statement regarding those WTO Members with outstanding and yet to be initiated GPA accession commitments. It was important that these obligations were taken 
seriously. Canada looked forward to working with all Members with outstanding accession 
commitments to support those efforts. 
1.11.  The representative of Japan said that Japan had been contributing to quality growth in 
Africa for more than 20 years through the Tokyo International Conference on African Development 
(TICAD) process. He hoped that the eventual accession of Seychelles to the GPA would contribute to quality growth in relevant sectors of its economy. He looked forward to the initiation by 
Seychelles of its GPA accession process in the foreseeable future.  
1.12.  The representative of Korea said he hoped that Seychelles' observer status would serve as a 
cornerstone to facilitate initiation of its GPA accession process in the foreseeable future. Korea was 
ready in this regard to cooperate with Se ychelles and share its experience as needed. GPA/M/62 
 
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  1.13.  The representative of the United States said that his delegation had developed a very close 
relationship with the Seychelles' negotiating team throughout Seychelles' WTO accession process, 
and had been impressed by its dedication and ha rd work. The United States also acknowledged 
and applauded the commitment that the Seychelles had demonstrated by taking the important 
step to become an observer to the GPA Committee, and looked forward to continuing a fruitful 
working relationship with Seychelles. The United States reaffirmed its commitment and readiness to work with Seychelles toward what it hoped would be a swift GPA accession process. With regard 
to other outstanding GPA accession commitments, the United States echoed the comments made 
by other Parties to reinforce the importance of making progress on those that had not progressed. 
1.14.  The representative of Norway said that his delegation looked forward to the eventual 
accession of Seychelles to the GPA as a Party. 
1.15.  The representative of Chinese Taipei said th at his delegation looked forward to the initiation 
of Seychelles' accession process in due course, an d stood ready to work cl osely with Seychelles to 
facilitate this process. 
1.16.  The representative of Singapore said that the adoption by Seychelles of its Government 
Procurement Law in 2009 was a very positive development. Seychelles had in this regard 
reaffirmed its commitment to the principles of openness, transparency, non-discrimination and 
open competition, which were key underlying prin ciples of the GPA. Singapore looked forward to 
working with Seychelles to facilitate its accession to the GPA in the foreseeable future. 
1.17.  The representative of Montenegro said that, as the youngest GPA Party, Montenegro looked 
forward to Seychelles initiating its GPA accession process in the foreseeable future and to being a 
good partner in that respect. 
1.18.  Echoing Montenegro and other Parties, the representative of New Zealand said that as the 
newest GPA Party, New Zealand also stood ready to  provide any support that Seychelles might find 
helpful. 
1.19.  The representative of Switzerland echoed  the sentiments expressed by all the preceding 
Parties.  
1.20.  The Chairman said that he took note of  Seychelles' ambition with regards to eventual 
accession to the Agreement at the appropriate time and under the right conditions. He joined with 
the Parties in encouraging this. Further, he took note of Seychelles' expressed interest in technical assistance to support its preparations for eventual GPA accession and called on the Secretariat to 
be ready to provide such assistance subject to th e receipt of an appropriate request. Further, he 
joined the Parties in offering encouragement to those Members with lapsed or yet to be initiated GPA accession commitments to progress their respective accessions, seeking any necessary 
technical assistance they considered necessary from the Secretariat and/or interested Parties.  
2  ADOPTION BY THE COMMITTEE OF THE REVISED DRAFT DECISION ON MOLDOVA'S 
ACCESSION TO THE AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT  
2.1.  The Chairman said that the revised draft decision on Moldova's accession to the Agreement 
on Government Procurement had been circulated on 31 July 2015.4 He asked whether the 
Committee could agree to the accession of Moldova on the basis of the said draft decision. 
2.2.  The Committee adopted the decision, inviting  Moldova to accede to the Agreement on the 
terms agreed.5 
2.3.  The Chairman congratulated the delegation of Moldova for the courage, persistence and skill 
that it had shown throughout its accession proce ss. This had been a challenging process over a 
number of years. He thanked the Parties to the Agreement for their consistent engagement. 
Further, he extended his appreciation to his predecessors, Mr Bruce CHRISTIE of Canada and 
Mr Krzysztof TREPCZY ŃSKI of Poland, for the work that they had done to lay the groundwork for 
                                               
4 GPA/ACC/MDA/26/Rev.2, dated 31 July 2015. 
5 GPA/131, dated 21 September 2015. GPA/M/62 
 
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  the present decision. Like them, he believed that other accessions to the Agreement would follow, 
and that the GPA was going increasingly to be at the centre of efforts to promote trade, value for 
money and fair competition in government procurement markets worldwide. 
2.4.  The representative of Moldova warmly welcomed the Committee's decision. His delegation 
was delighted to be present at the meeting.6 He extended his deep appreciation to the Parties and 
their distinguished representatives who had been involved in Moldova's GPA accession process, for their support and spirit of cooperation in bringing its accession to a successful conclusion. He 
expressed his gratitude to the Chairman and his pr edecessors for their invaluable assistance. He 
thanked the Secretariat for its support, and expresse d the deep appreciation of his Government to 
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for its continuous support and assistance. 
2.5.  Moldova's accession was the third since the entry into force of the revised GPA in April 2014. 
Together with the earlier accessions of Montenegro and New Zealand, this reflected the growing i n t e r e s t  i n  t h e  G P A  o n  t h e  p a r t  o f  W T O  M e m b e r s  a s  w e l l  a s  t h e  i n c r e a s i n g  i m p o r t a n c e  o f  t h e  
Agreement as an underpinning of global trade an d development. Moldova was proud to be joining 
the ranks of the GPA membership. Moldova's accession to the GPA fulfilled a key obligation that his country had committed to at the time it joined th e WTO. GPA membership had, from the Moldovan 
perspective, been pursued for a variety of reasons and benefits. These included the alignment of 
national public procurement institutions and legal framework with the best international practices, and implied a commitment to transparency, fairness and non-discriminatory treatment for all participating suppliers in covered public procurement procedures. 
2.6.  Moldova had high expectations that its me mbership of the GPA would translate into lower 
procurement costs and encourage an increase in foreign direct investment. The certainty of access to government contracting opportunities provided by the GPA was expected to have, as a whole, a 
positive impact on the country's economy. Moldova would spare no efforts to start its domestic 
procedures with a view to making a timely deposit of its instrument of accession to the GPA, and looked forward to playing its role as a fully-fledged Party to the Agreement, including in helping to 
make the GPA a successful and indispensable WTO instrument, in the course of time. 
2.7.  The representatives of Canada, the United States, the European Union, Chinese Taipei, the 
Republic of Korea, Japan, Norway, Singapore, and Switzerland joined in warmly congratulating 
Moldova for the successful conclusion of its acce ssion process. They noted with satisfaction 
Moldova's intention to deposit its instrument of accession as soon as possible, and looked forward 
to working with Moldova as a fully-fledged Party in the foreseeable future.  
2.8.  Continuing, the representative of Canada  underlined the commitment and drive with which 
Moldova had pursued its GPA accession process. Canada expressed its appreciation for the 
flexibility and perseverance that Moldova had demonstrated throughout its accession process, notwithstanding some tough negotiations. This was reflected in a very high quality and ambitious 
market access offer that formed part of Moldova's terms of accession. 
2.9.  The representative of the United States said that his delegation had been consistently 
impressed by the hard work, professionalism and de dication of Moldova's negotiating team. It had 
been a pleasure to work with Moldova in this regard. Moldova had shown great resolve in 
addressing the concerns of Parties throughout the process and, in this regard, was ready to be a 
positive contributor to this Committee. Moldova's market access coverage was excellent and served as a model for other countries acceding to the GPA. The United States applauded Moldova 
for both its efforts and the results of its concluded accession. 
2.10.  The representative of the European Union,  echoing the United States and other Parties, 
congratulated Moldova for its excellent and close cooperation with all GPA Parties, and for the 
efficient manner in which the negotiations had been conducted. The European Union was also 
particularly pleased to welcome the accession of a country with which it already maintained very close relations, in the context of a deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This FTA had been concluded between the two parties the previous year. The European Union looked 
forward to the rapid entry into force of the FT A following its ratification by the respective 
                                               
6 The Delegation of the Republic of Moldova wa s headed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, 
Mr Simion Botnari. GPA/M/62 
 
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  authorities. The FTA was quite ambitious, incorp orated significant market access commitments, 
and provided that the Republic of Moldova gradually approximate its public procurement legislation with the European Union rules. GPA accession in this context would further strengthen the reform efforts that were under way in Moldova. The Euro pean Union looked forward very much to Moldova 
– together with other recently acceded Parties – playing an active role in the future work of the 
Committee.  
2.11.  The representative of Chinese Taipei, in welcoming Moldova to the GPA community, said 
that Moldova's GPA accession was a good signal for the multilateral trading system. His delegation 
encouraged Moldova to honour the commitment it had made to Chinese Taipei with respect to the non-discriminatory treatment of Chinese Taipei suppliers. 
2.12.  The representative of the Republic of Korea expressed his delegation's appreciation to 
Moldova's excellent market access offer. Like other Parties, Korea particularly appreciated 
Moldova's sincere efforts in the course of its accession process to respond to and reflect the various requests made by Parties. Moldova's accession represented a positive contribution to an 
open and transparent GPA covered procurement market. 
2.13.  The representative of Japan expressed his deep appreciation to Moldova for its efforts and 
high degree of flexibility throughout the accession negotiation process. His delegation also 
extended its appreciation to EBRD for the support it provided to Moldova.  
2.14.  The representative of Norway, in welcom ing Moldova's accession to the Agreement, said 
that it illustrated the importance of strong and transparent rules in international trade – and, 
specifically, with regard to government procurem ent markets. This was, accordingly, good news 
for the global trading system. 
2.15.  The representative of Singapore said that his delegation looked forward to the active 
participation by Moldova in the Committee in the course of time. 
2.16.  The representative of Switzerland echoed the interventions of other Parties, including, 
notably, that of Korea. Switzerland very much appreciated the efficient way by which Moldova had 
taken account of its concerns and suggestions. 
3  UPDATING OF THE CHECKLIST OF ISSU ES FOR THE PROVISIO N OF INFORMATION 
RELATING TO ACCESSION TO THE AGR EEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 
INCORPORATING THE REVISIONS PROPOSED BY VARIOUS DELEGATIONS  
3.1.  The Chairman recalled that the Checklist of I ssues for the Provision of Information Relating to 
Accession to the Agreement on Government Proc urement was a key document of reference in 
regard to accessions to the Agreement. It was used by the Committee to gain a sense of the 
accession candidate's procurement legislation an d system and, importantly, the way in which 
various GPA requirements were fulfilled. The need for updating of the Checklist had arisen in light 
of the coming into force of the revised Agreemen t in 2014 and the growing interest in accession to 
the Agreement. 
3.2.  To facilitate updating of the Checklist, on 20 May 2015, the Secretariat had, with his 
approval, circulated a Note7 setting out various proposed changes to bring the Checklist into line 
with the revised Agreement. Subsequently, an initial discussion of those proposals had taken place in the framework of the Committee's meetings on  3 June 2015. While all Parties had expressed 
their support in principle for updating of the Chec klist, a Party indicated that it would need more 
time for internal consultations. In that context, the Secretariat had been authorized to share the proposed revision (specifically, the Note circulated on 28 May 2015, with any further typographical 
or other necessary corrections) with acceding delegations for their use, on an informal basis. 
Subsequently, a further revised version of the draft document had been issued.
8 This latter 
document incorporated suggestions received subsequent to the meeting of 3 June 2015 from the 
European Union and Hong Kong, China in addition to a suggestion made by Singapore in the 
course of the meeting in June. The additional modifications were shown in track changes format, 
                                               
7 Job No.3981.15, dated 20 May 2015. 
8 JOB/GPA/1/Rev.1, dated 27 July 2015. GPA/M/62 
 
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  with attribution to each proposing delegation. The proposed changes had also been harmonized by 
the Secretariat in one respect: in view of the EU's proposal to define "the Agreement" as the revised Agreement in the opening sentence, proposals for additional references to the "revised" 
Agreement elsewhere in the draft (followi ng that sentence) had been omitted. 
3.3.  The Committee approved the updated Checklis t of Issues for Provision of Information on 
Accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement, reflected in document 
JOB/GPA/1/Rev.1, to be issued as a new "GPA" document superseding the old version contained in 
GPA/35.9 
4  NOTIFICATION TO THE CHAIRMAN  OF THE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT BODY 
4.1.  Following discussion in informal session, as  foreseen in the Invitation Fax (point 3.2 of 
Attachment A) and with the agreement of all Part ies, the Chairman recalled that, in accordance 
with the provisions of Article 1:2 and Appendix 1 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures 
Governing the Settlement of Disputes, the compet ent Body of each Plurilateral Trade Agreement 
was required to notify any special or additional rules of procedures as regards dispute settlement 
to the Dispute Settlement Body ("DSB"). In light of the coming into force of the revised 
Agreement, he had previously circulated to the Committee a draft letter that he proposed to send to the Chairman of the DSB to this effect (see Invitation Fax dated 4 September 2015, Attachment 
B).  
4.2.  The Committee approved the proposal by the Chairman to notify the DSB of the special rules 
and procedures regarding dispute settlement that are incorporated in the revised GPA, on the 
basis of the draft letter that he had circulated to the Committee, with any necessary clarifications. 
5  OTHER BUSINESS 
5.1.  There were no items of other business.  
__________  
                                               
9 Subsequently issued as document GPA/132, dated 14 October 2015.