RESTR ICTED  
  
GPA/M/68  
 
11 May 2017  
(17-2529) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Government Procurement   
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMA L MEETING OF 23 FEBRUAR Y 2017  
CHAIRMAN: MR JOHN NEWHAM  (IRELAND)  
The Chairman said that,  in preparation for the meeting, delegations had  received an Airgram1 
setting out the proposed agenda, in addition to two related faxes. The propose d agenda was as 
follows:  
 
1. Chairmanship of the Committee in 2017;  
2. Implementation of the Agreement by newly acceded Parties ; and  
3. Other Business, if any.  
In regard to  Other Business, the Chairman said that he would draw attention to  the dates that had 
been r eserved for further substantive meetings of the Committee in 2017. 
 
No other items of other business had been proposed by delegations.  
 
The Committee adopted  the agenda, with the additional information item on meeting dates .  
 
1  CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE  IN 2017  
1.1.  The Committee re-elected  Mr John NEWHAM (Ireland) as its Chairman for 2017.  
1.2.  The Chairman  thanked  delegations for the ir continued  trust in him. He said that it  was a 
privilege and an honour to serve as Chairman of the Committee, not only in view of  the growing 
importance of the GPA in the world economy and the WTO system, but because the Committee 
was, in his view, unique. The Committee was  unique because of its consistency  in terms of effort , 
engagement  and results . This applied equally to delegati ons in Geneva as well as officials in the 
capitals, who continue d to expend  resources and  effort in developing the Agreement, expanding its 
coverage, and understanding each other's public procurement systems.  
1.3.  On 22 February 2017, a very successful Symposi um had been held, at the behest of the 
Committee, on the topic of Sustainable Procurement. This was a noteworthy example of the 
Committee's engagement and the relevance of its work . It was his belief that 2017 could be 
another very significant year for the  Committee, witnessing important progress on diverse aspects 
of its work. He wished to outline four specific hopes for the year . These were, in his view,  fully 
achievable provided  that delegations maintained their positive engagement .  
 First, he looked for ward to continu ing good progress on the Committee's  work on 
pending and future accessions to the Agreement. In 2016 , significant progress had been 
made on the accessions of Australia, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. In 2017, the 
Committee  should aim to  conclude these , if possible and in light of relevant negotiating 
interests . With regard to the accession of China, there appeared to be  a possibility of 
renewed movement. He hoped that no opportunity would  be lost to facilitate this and 
move this importan t accession  forward. Concerning the Russian Federation, its 
application for accession in 2016  was another significant development. He was  confident 
that Parties, and the Russian Federation itself, would  do their best to move forward 
                                                
1 WTO/AIR/GPA/10 , dated  13 February  2017. GPA/M/68  
 
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  related discussions  in a constructive manner. In all cases , he recognize d that the actual 
conclusion of work would be  subject to delegations' negotiating interests . 
 Further, and s till on the topic of accessions, it was his belief that some effort should be 
made – both by the Com mittee and individually by Parties – in promoting the GPA 
further afield , especially in Latin America. He sought  the active support of the Committee 
in this regard. As a first step , with effect from the present meeting, not merely the 
formal meetings, but also the informal proceedings of the Committee would  benefit from 
interpretation into the other official WTO languages. He thanked  the Secretariat for its 
cooperation in implementing  this important change in the Committee's  procedures ; 
 As a second  broad ar ea of interest, it was his hope  that the Committee would  continue to 
move forward effectively in regard to its various agreed Work Programmes. Good 
progress had been made in 2016 , and he hoped that this would  continue  in the current 
year. The Symposium appeared to have been well received by delegations, and had set  
the stage for further progress in regard to the critical area of sustainability. Similarly, the 
work on SMEs and statistics  had also seen good progress . Pursuant to t he relevant 
Committee decisio ns, found in Annex 2 of GPA/113 of 2 April 2012, all the Work 
Programmes were important for transparency; for the efficient and effective 
implementation of the Agreement; and, at least in some respects, for the future 
negotiations that were mandated to be initiated in 2017, under Article XXII:7 of the 
Agreement . 
 With regard to the mandated future negotiations, based on his consultations during the 
course of the present meeting  week, it appeared  that Parties wished  to reflect on the 
matter and would take a d ecision in due course, based in part on continuing progress on 
the Work Programmes ; 
 Thirdly , in 2017 , he hoped to see the entry into force of the Agreement for the one 
remaining Party having still  to accept the 2012 Protocol of Amendment ; and  
 Finally , at a  later date, he would welcome further consideration of the future direction of 
the WTO's e -GPA system. It was his  sense that sufficient progress had been made to 
demonstrate  the potential that the system had to enhance transparency and facilitate 
greater e fficiency and effectiveness with respect to diverse facets of the Committee's  
work. At the same time , important components of the system  clearly require d further 
work. An example in this regard was the e -modification module  which would 
undoubtedly be usefu l to Parties. Future work on the system should take careful account 
not only of the needs of Parties  but also of their suppliers . 
1.4.  In concluding, he looked forward to  receiving feedback from delegations regarding the goals 
and aspirations that he had outlin ed, whether in the present meeting or at any time during the 
year. 
1.5.  The representatives of the Republic of Korea , the European Union,  the Republic of Moldova,  
New Zealand,  Ukraine,  Singapore,  Norway,  Tajikistan , Russian Federation,  and the Kyrgyz 
Republic  warmly congratulated  the Chairman on his re -election and  pledged to work with him to 
achieve further progress in the Committee's work.  
1.6.  Continuing, the representative of the Republic of Korea , on behalf of his delegation, 
expressed his appreciat ion to the Ch airman for his passion and leadership to date,  and look ed 
forward to his continuing  contribution  in the same spirit, going forward . 
1.7.  The representative of the European Union  thanked the Chairman  for his leadership and 
commitment  to the Committee's work . Throughout  his Chairmanship, he had worked effectively to 
facilitate progress in the Committee's work . The European Union  fully support ed the goals and 
aspirations that he had outlined, and looked forward to continuing progress.  
1.8.  The representative of the Republic of Moldova  availed herself  of the opportunity to convey 
the sincere gratitude of her delegation to the Chairman for his dedication to the WTO 's activities  – GPA/M/68  
 
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  especially the work of the Committee. The Republic of Moldova wished him every success as 
Chairman of a  Committee  whose work was of growing importance in the WTO framework.  
1.9.  The representative of New Zealand  welcome d the continuation of the Chairman's leadership 
of the Committee. New Zealand  looked forward to working with him during the year to achi eve 
progress in all of the areas he had mentioned.  
1.10.   The representative of Ukraine  said that he looked forward to the Chairman's leadership and 
to achieving the goals that he had set out.  
2  IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E AGREEMENT BY NEWLY  ACCEDED PARTIES  
2.1.  The Chairma n said that monitoring and supporting implementation of the Agreement by 
newly acceded Parties  was an important aspect of the Committee's work . Accordingly, he 
welcomed the suggestion by one of the new Parties, Ukraine, to hold a related discussion.   
2.2.  The r epresentative of Ukraine  extended his delegation's deep appreciation to the Committee 
for the attention and support that it had received in the course of its recent accession process, 
culminating in its having become a Party to the Agreement on 18 May 2016 .  
2.3.  Ukraine wished  to bring to the  attention of the Committee an initiative which it believed could 
serve as a practical tool for the benefit of the stakeholders of all  GPA Parties.  In early 2015, 
Ukraine had  launched an e -procurement system named "Pro Zorro" – a term meaning 
"transparent" in the Ukrainian  language.  ProZorro was a hybrid system that was built on the open 
source principle. All information was stored in one central database , and the data was accessible to 
supplie rs and contract ing authorities via competing platforms , from among which they were free to 
choose to access the data. Since 1 August 2016, all contract ing authorities in Ukraine were obliged 
to use the system. It was worth y of note  that in 2016  Ukraine had won the World Procurement 
Award  in the Public Sector category, as well as the Open Government Partnership Award , at the 
Third Annual Open Government Awards 2016. Th e EBRD had recommended P roZorro as a model 
for e-procurement reform for some developing countries and , earlier in the  year, ProZorro had 
become a showcase and learning project of the Open Contracting Partnership.  
2.4.  The ProZorro e-procurement system offered a number of advantages. These included: its 
open source ; the availability of additional services including training and leg al support ; enhanced 
competition ; high resistance to corruption ; additional statistical reporting and risk management 
tools; the application of open contracting data standards ; and alignment with relevant 
international instruments, notably, the GPA . Since its launch , more than 570 ,000 tender  
procedures had been carried out via the system, with more than 80,000  suppliers  posting  at least 
one bid on the system. The savings generated to date due to the implementation of the system 
were believed  to amount to ap proximately 10 -12% of the budgeted value of each tender . 
2.5.  Ukraine wished  to stress that the ProZorro initiative , in its view,  was closely aligned with and 
would support the core principles of the Agreement on Government Procurement, namely : non -
discriminati on, transparency and competition. It was a practical tool to carry forward those 
principles and had the potential to add considerable value to the Agreement, by offering 
transparent and non -discriminatory access to procurement markets for businesses from a ll 
participating countries .  
2.6.  The representative of the European Union  warmly welcome d the high -level delegation from 
Ukraine, headed by First Deputy Minister Maxim Nefyodov . The European Union was  delighted to 
note that , despite having only recently joined  the GPA, Ukraine had, from the outset, been an 
active participa nt in the Committee 's work . Her delegation offered its deep appreciation to  Ukraine 
for its positive attitude , and encourage d it to keep up the good work. Her delegation had, earlier in 
the me eting week , had a fruitful bilateral  meeting with the delegation of Ukraine.  In the course of 
the meeting, Ukraine had provided it with  information on its proposal to launch a pilot project on 
aggregation of the procurement notices of GPA Parties using mod ern data standards. This had now 
been reaffirmed in the statement that had just been made by the Deputy Minister. The European 
Union  welcome d and support ed the idea of  a single web portal through which procurement notices 
and the market access data of GPA Parties could be accessed . In the view of her delegation,  this 
should be a long term goal , and it would be necessary for Ukraine to engage with Parties on  the GPA/M/68  
 
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  necessary  pre-requisite s to carry out  such an project,  noting that  there might be a variety of  
obstacles. I n this regard, i t would be useful if Ukraine would submit a work plan outlining the 
details and next steps of the proposed pilot project. The European Union would also welcome some 
information as regards  the availability of resources for the GPA Secretariat  to assist and support 
the setting up of the project .  
2.7.  The representative of Ukraine  thank ed the European Union for its comments.  Ukraine had,  
indeed , the intention to contribute, through the ProZorro system, to make the GPA statistical data 
available as a valuable resource  for the business communities of GPA Parties  and observers. In this 
regard,  Ukraine would be pleased to present a proposal on the creation of a unified web portal 
based on open contracting data standards (OCDS ) to delegations i n the course of the Committee's 
informal sessions. The presentation would be made jointly with Ukraine's partners from  the Open 
Contracting Partnership . It would focus on additional tools that, in the view of his delegation, could 
be implemented with a vie w to enhancing  international cooperation  in this area , as well as the 
attractiveness of the  GPA to acceding Members.  
2.8.  The representative of the Republic of Moldova , on behalf of her delegation  and her 
Government , express ed her appreciation to the Committee and the Parties for  the support that her 
country had received in the course of its successful accession to the GPA. In particular, the 
assistance , advice and support  of EBRD, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan, 
Switzerland and Chinese Tai pei, as well as of the WTO Secretariat , were greatly appreciated.   
2.9.  The Republic of Moldova was honoured to be a full -fledged Party to the GPA . It attache d 
great importance to its membership in the Agreement  as a practical means to improve its public 
procur ement practice , simplify procedures , combat corruption , and put at the disposal of Moldovan 
economic operators a tool to enable them to partake of tender opportunities . Following the entry 
into force of the Agreement for the Republic of Moldova on 14 July 2016, the Government had, 
with a view to ensuring  its proper implementation,  adopted Decision No. 1332 of 
14 December  2016. This Decision  approved the National Strategy for Public Procurement for the 
period of 2016 -2020. Nevertheless, her delegation was of  the view  that the reform of public 
procurement was much larger than the said Decision. While the legislation was being harmonized 
with the Republic of Moldova's WTO commitments and the commitments undertaken in the 
framework of the Moldova –European Union Association Agreement, her country also need ed to 
ensure that the given rules were implemented and executed accordingly, and that a strong and 
efficient system of public procurement was set up which fostered the attainment of value for 
money.  
2.10.   Capacity buil ding and training activities conducted by the Public Procurement Agency were 
insufficient, especially in the context of the imminent entry into force of Law No. 131 of 
3 July 2015 regarding public procurement . While p rofessional training and consultancy services 
were offered by Parties , this was only upon request, and not a regular  occurrence,  and nor was it 
focused on concrete issues. Currently, no training was being provided for economic operators . The 
fundamental institutional framework for public procur ement was in place  and the existing structure 
constitute d a basis for launching the reform process. However, serious reforms were necessary at 
the institutional level . 
2.11.   While t he Ministry of Finance had overall policy responsib ility for public procurement , this 
function needed  to be significantly strengthened in order to efficiently guide the entire public 
procurement  reform s in the country . The mission of the Public Procurement Agency needed  to be 
reoriented, in order to shift its primary focus from direct involvement in the process of public 
procurement to oversight and monitoring of the system as a whole. While t he National Complaint 
Settlement Agency had an approved strategy, it was  not yet operational , and its independenc e 
could only  be guaranteed if it was established as an agency directly accountable to Parliament . 
2.12.   The Republic of Moldova believed that a  well-functioning electronic system for public 
procurement was one of the most effective tools to enhance the transparency, efficiency and 
reliability of procurement procedures. Transitioning to a fully electronic communication system in 
public procurement would  reduce administrative burden s for businesses , and deliver  significant 
financial, time and administrative efficiency savings . The i ntroduction of electronic procurement 
was therefore  an essential component of public procurement reform . The Republic of Moldova 
intended to incorporate European Union policies on electronic procurement into national law. New 
optimized and standardized processes of activ ity for electronic public procurement would be GPA/M/68  
 
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  developed and implemented . While various electronic tools and processes could  be developed in 
successive steps , the d evelopment and implementation of an e-procurement system needed to  be 
approached as a single , comprehensive project. The results to be achieved  for contracting 
authorities, economic agents, regulatory and control bodies and the general public would  be 
measured according to a proposed set of indicators  that had already been developed in the capita l. 
2.13.   The implementation of the strategy  would  be continuously monitored , and a  Supervisory 
Council had been  established  in the Ministry of Finance  for this purpose . Relevant institutions 
would  report quarterly on implementation to the Ministry of Finance, which in turn would present 
an annual report to the Government before 1 March  each year . The final review and evaluation of 
the Strategy would  be conducted in 2020. The Republic of Moldova looked forward to  a successful 
implementation process and stood  ready  to continue working with its partners in order to achieve 
that result.  
2.14.   The Chairman  expressed his appreciation to  the Parties for their comments , especially those 
of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. As recent ly acceded  members, the experiences, views  and 
concerns of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova were  most pertinent . The Committee would , in 
this regard,  welcome further future updates. The brea dth, depth and ambition of the ideas that 
had just been shared were to be commended . The Committee looked forward to Ukraine's 
presentation later in the day which would provide more details concerning its proposal.  
3  OTHER BUSINESS  
3.1.  The Chairman  recalled that the dates that  had previously been reserved for further 
substantive meetings of the Committee in 2017, beyond the present meeting,  as set out in a fax 
by the Secretariat2, were: 
 The week beginning 19 June , including plurilateral sessions to take place on 
Wednesday, 21 June 2017 ; and  
 The week beginning 16 October , including plurilateral sessions to be held on 
Wednesday, 18 October 2017 . 
3.2.  For completeness, the above  dates were exclusive of the Committee's end -of-year 
housekeeping meeting, to be scheduled, at which participation by Geneva -based officials only 
would be expected, and any other short meetings, simila rly covered  by Geneva officials, that might  
be necessary to respond to contingencies . 
 
__________  
                                                
2 RD/GPA/45, dated 21 November 2016.