RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/50  
 
6 May 2013  
(13-2397)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Government Procurement  Original: English  
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMAL MEETING OF 27 FEBRUARY 2013 
CHAIRMAN: MR BRUCE CHRISTIE (CANADA)1 
The representative of the Secretariat said that, fo llowing past procedures and with the Consent of 
the Committee, he would chair the proceedings until the Committee elected its Chairperson, as 
foreseen, under the first item of business for the day. 
Continuing, he said that in preparation for the meeting, delegations had received an Airgram 
(WTO/AIR/4076 of 13 February 2013) setting out the proposed agenda. Subsequently, on 
21 February 2013, a revised Airgram (WTO/AIR/4076/Rev.1) had been circulated. Concurrently, two separate faxes had been circulated to ascertai n delegations' views regarding the action to be 
taken with regard to the Chairmanship. Finall y, on 26 February 2013, a further fax had been 
circulated to inform all delegations of the latest developments. 
The Committee adopted the following agenda, as prop osed in the latest version of the Airgram: 
1. Election of a Chairman for 2013; and 
2. Other business, if any. 
With regard other business, the representative of  the Secretariat said that no items had been 
proposed for consideration. 
1  ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN FOR 2013 
1.1.  The representative of the Secretariat said that, according to his understanding, a consensus 
existed in favour of the re-election of Mr Bruce Christie as the Committee's Chairman for the first 
part of the year, up to the August summer break. Concerning the Chairmanship for the second 
part of the year, the Committee would revert to this at a later date. 
1.2.  The Committee re-elected Mr Christie to se rve as Chairman for the period up to the summer 
break. 
1.3.  The incoming Chairman, Mr Christie, expres sed his appreciation to delegations for the trust 
that they had reposed in him in re-electing him as Chairman for the specified period. He looked 
forward to working with delegations to continue to advance the work of the Committee during this 
period. 
1.4.  Continuing, he said that it was important to make significant progress, during the year, on 
various issues that were before the Committee as a result of the conclusion of the renegotiation on the revised Agreement in December 2011, and the formal adoption of its outcomes in March 2012. 
To that end, he outlined, for the consideration of delegations, a set of goals that the Committee 
might strive to achieve in the course of the year, ideally with a view to achieving specific results to be recognized at the Ministerial Conference scheduled for Bali in December 2013. 
                                               
1 The first part of the meeting, up to and including the election of the Committee's Chairman, was 
chaired by a representative of the Secretariat, Mr Robert Anderson. Following his election, the Chairman, 
Mr Bruce Christie of Canada, ch aired the remaining proceedings. GPA/M/50 
 
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  1.5.  Pursuant to the above, as a first goal, he said that all Parties should strive to live up to the 
commitment made by GPA Ministers at the political conclusion of the renegotiation, to seek the 
prompt adoption and entry into force of the revise d Agreement. This, he suggested, is essential to 
realize the potential of the revised Agreement. He encouraged Parties to make every effort to 
achieve this goal in time to be recognised at the Ministerial Conference. 
1.6.  Secondly, the Committee should strive for significant progress in its ongoing work on pending 
accessions to the Agreement. In this respect, ther e seemed to be no reason why, from a technical 
viewpoint, one or two accessions could not be concluded in time to be recognised at the Ministerial 
Conference. The Committee should work toward this goal. 
1.7.  Thirdly, the Committee should endeavour to  conclude the work on the draft decisions on 
arbitration procedures and indicative criteria, if po ssible also in time for the Ministerial Conference 
in Bali. 
1.8.  And fourthly, subject to sufficient progress being achieved, the work that the Secretariat had 
initiated, in consultation with the Committee, on building a more integrated and interactive GPA 
web portal could be another element to celebrate at the end of the year. 
1.9.  Continuing, the Chairman observed that the goals that he had outlined might appear to some 
delegations to be ambitious. Nonetheless, he believed that their realisation was not at all beyond 
the capabilities of the Committee. It was his hope that, with the full commitment and positive 
engagement of all delegations, the Committee co uld move energetically to achieve these goals. 
1.10.  The representatives of the European Union,  the United States and Canada congratulated the 
Chairman on his re-election. 
1.11.  Continuing, the representative of the Europe an Union said that, while the goals outlined by 
the Chairman were ambitious, the European Unio n would do its utmost to work towards their 
realisation. 
1.12.  The representative of the United States said that his delegation shared the view that the 
goals outlined by the Chairman were worth pursuing, and would be a very positive outcome for the 
year. His delegation would strive towards their achievement. 
1.13.  The representative of Canada said that , although the goals outlined by the Chairman 
appeared ambitious, they were not overly so. His delegation looked forward to working with other 
delegations with a view to bringing the goals to fruition. 
1.14.  The Chairman expressed his appreciation  for the expressions of support that he had 
received from delegations. The timeline of the end of the year and the Bali Ministerial Conference 
provided an important marker to aim for and to work towards the realization of the goals that he had outlined. In this respect, he proposed that the Committee review progress achieved toward 
the goals regularly at each of its meetings in 2013. 
2  OTHER BUSINESS 2.1.  There were no items raised under "Other Business". 
 
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