RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/54  
 
27 January 2014  
(14-0436)  Page: 1/9  
Committee on Government Procurement    
 
 MINUTES OF THE MINISTERIAL-LEVEL MEETING OF 3 DECEMBER 2013 
CHAIRMAN: MR BRUCE CHRISTIE (CANADA) 
The Chairman said that, in preparation for the meeting, delegations had received an Airgram1. As 
set out in the Airgram, it was proposed th at the meeting address the following items: 
1. The Coming into Force of the Revised Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA); 
2. Accessions to the Agreement on Government Procurement; 
3. Work Program of the Committee in 2014; and 
4. Other business, if any. 
No items were proposed by delegations under the heading of "Other business". 
The Committee adopted the agenda, as proposed. All agenda items were addressed jointly, 
through the adoption of the Committee's Ministerial Declaration and related statements made by 
Parties and Observers to the Agreement. 
1  ADOPTION OF THE MINISTERIAL DECLARATION 
1.1.  The Chairman invited the Committee to adop t the draft Ministerial Declaration that had been 
circulated to delegations in a fax dated 2 December 2013.2 
1.2.  The Committee adopted the Ministerial Declaration.3 
1.3.  The Chairman said that the adoption of the Declaration and the commitment that Parties had 
made to bring the revised Agreement into effect no later than 31 March 2014 was another very 
significant step for the Committee that demonstrated Parties' shared vision for the Agreement, as a 21
st century tool to preserve market openness and promote good governance. The text that had 
been adopted reflected the instruments of accept ance regarding the Protocol of Amendment that 
had already been deposited by, in the order in which they had been received, Liechtenstein; 
Norway; Canada; Chinese Taipei; the United States; and Hong Kong, China; in addition to that of 
the European Union which was in the process of being deposited in Geneva. Furthermore, it also 
reflected the clear expectation, on the basis of information that had been shared with the Committee, that several more instruments would be deposited by Parties in the coming weeks. He 
thanked all the delegations, those whose instruments were already in, and those that were taking 
the necessary steps to submit their instruments as soon as possible.  
1.4.  With respect to pending accessions to th e Agreement, he expressed his hope that the 
accessions of New Zealand and Montenegro could be moved to a conclusion early in 2014, and 
that work on the accession of China would proceed  purposefully and with intensified focus during 
the year. He asked delegations to work together to ward these ends, in a spirit of cooperation. In 
addition, other pending and future accessions should not be overlooked by the Committee. 
                                               
1 WTO/AIR/4228, dated 21 November 2013. 
2 See gpa2013/fx13-11, dated 2 December 2013. 
3 See GPA/122, dated 3 December 2013 (copy attached for easy reference). GPA/M/54 
 
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  1.5.  The Director-General of the WTO, Mr Robe rto Azevêdo, said that Parties had convened the 
present Ministerial-level meeting to recognize th e commitment that had been made to bring the 
revised Agreement on Government Procurement into effect in the first quarter of 2014. Government procurement was a very important elem ent of overall economic activity, representing 
15-20% of GDP worldwide. By promoting the effi cient provision of infrastructure and public 
services such as health and education, government procurement had a direct impact on the state of national treasuries, as well as on the well-being of citizens. Its role in international trade was 
also increasing, due in part to the impact of the GPA and related bilateral and regional 
arrangements. 
1.6.  Continuing, he said that the Agreement on Government Procurement was the world's main 
tool for maintaining open markets and facilitating trade in the government procurement sector. It 
contributed very significantly to the promotion of  good governance, and served as an important 
benchmark for national policy reforms. Further, it  was used extensively as a template for regional 
and bilateral agreements that extended the reach of the Agreement's principles well beyond its 
formal membership at the WTO. For all these reasons, the GPA had an important role to play both 
in deepening the linkages that existed between developed economies and emerging and transition 
economies; and in promoting good procurement practices around the world. 
1.7.  The revised Agreement on Government Procurement effectively modernized the Agreement's 
text, for example by introducing standards related to the use of e-procurement tools. It expanded 
access to government procurement markets by, at a minimum, USD 80-100 billion annually, through expanded coverage of procuring entities, services and goods; and through the coverage of 
new forms of procurement such as build-operate-tr ansfer arrangements. Furthermore, it promoted 
good governance and the effective management of public resources through its emphasis on transparency, accountability and non-discriminatory conditions of competition. In this context, he 
was pleased that the revised GPA was now very close to coming into effect. The timely coming into 
force of the revised Agreement, in turn, boded well for the intensified work on new accessions to the Agreement that was already under way. 
1.8.  GPA accession provided legally-enforceable  market access rights for the suppliers of all 
participating WTO Members. In addition, it could be a catalyst for policy reforms that maximized value for money for governments in the core functions that they carried out for citizens. The revised Agreement made accession easier through th e greater flexibility and improved transitional 
measures that it provided. The time was ripe for WTO Members not presently covered by the 
Agreement to consider the benefits that membership might bring to their economies. 
1.9.  Concluding his statement, he congratulated the GPA Parties for the fact that the revised 
Agreement would come into force within, effectively, two years from the formal adoption of the 
results of the renegotiation in March 2012. This responded appropriately to the commitment that had been made by Ministers at MC8, to ensure prom pt ratification and the timely coming into force 
of the improved and modernized Agreement. He pl edged the continuing support of the Secretariat 
and himself to Parties, and to the current and potential accession candidates. 
2  STATEMENTS BY PARTIES 2.1.  The representative of the European Union said that the European Union welcomed the 
deposit of the instruments of acceptance by a num ber of GPA Parties and could share that its own 
instrument of acceptance was currently being deposited in Geneva. The European Union was appreciative of the very likely entry into force of  the revised GPA in early 2014, and invited all GPA 
Parties to complete their ratification processes to make sure that the revised GPA would soon 
apply to the entire membership. 
2.2.  The European Union took note of the st eady efforts by Montenegro and New Zealand to 
complete their respective accession processes, and saw a good prospect that these accessions 
could be finalised in 2014. It encouraged all acceding countries to speed up their accession processes; especially when it came to China, the European Union was expecting that the ongoing 
reform should increase the possibility to offer larger market access. The European Union also 
invited other WTO Members to initiate accession to the GPA with a view to a mutually beneficiary 
expansion of business opportunities in the field of government procurement. GPA/M/54 
 
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  2.3.  The Chairman confirmed that the instrument  of acceptance of the European Union had been 
deposited in Geneva a few minutes previously. This brought the total number of instruments of 
acceptance that had been submitted to seven. 
2.4.  The representative of the United States said that his delegation was happy to have submitted 
its instrument of acceptance regarding the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government 
Procurement one day previously. The United States  was extremely pleased that the signatories to 
the revised GPA were now in a position to bring the revised Agreement into force in early 2014. 
The new Agreement would build on the substantia l successes of the existing GPA. The United 
States was particularly pleased with the signific ant improvements in procedures and in market 
access coverage. According to estimates by the WTO Secretariat, the revised GPA would increase market access coverage by USD 80-100 billion pe r year. That was on top of the approximate 
USD 1 trillion already covered under the existing GPA. In short, the coming into force of the 
revised GPA was a true plurilateral success story in the WTO, and GPA Parties should continue to build on this achievement. 
2.5.  One good way to build on the Committee's success was to encourage more WTO Members to 
join the GPA, to take advantage of the market access opportunities it provided and to gain from the disciplines it instilled. Here again, the revi sed GPA was a step forward, as it included new 
flexibilities for developing and least developed economies seeking to join the Agreement. Towards 
the goal of expanded GPA membership, he emphasized the importance that his delegation attached to continued efforts by China, New Zealand, and Montenegro to accede to the GPA. The United States had been disappointed by China's halting progress to move its accession forward. 
Based on its most recent offer, tabled more than a year ago, China remained far from the finish 
line. The United States had been pursuing its concerns with China, in the Committee and bilaterally. He was hopeful that these contacts could result in rapid new progress. 
2.6.  Turning to New Zealand, the US supported it s accession and recognized its efforts to move it 
to a conclusion. New Zealand was getting close to the finish line; but as often happened in this stage, the last few issues could be the hardest. The United States looked forward to working with 
New Zealand to resolve those issues soon. The United States also thanked Montenegro for its 
revised offer. The speed of its submission and the inclusion of several helpful improvements 
underscored Montenegro's commitment to accede to the GPA. The United States still had some questions regarding Montenegro's two-phase a pproach but was committed to working with 
Montenegro to resolve them. 
2.7.  The representative of Japan said that he  was glad to attend the meeting celebrating the 
revised Agreement's impending coming into force. In this respect, just a few hours earlier, the Diet 
of Japan had approved the Protocol amending th e GPA by an overwhelming majority. Japan would 
proceed with the remaining internal process in order to deposit its instrument of acceptance as early as possible. The global government procurement market offered huge economic 
opportunities yet to be fully explored. Japan believed that with the coming into effect of the 
revised Agreement, the liberalization of procurem ent markets would expand further, contributing 
to the growth and the recovery of the global economy. 
2.8.  One of the important features of the revised Agreement was that it facilitated accessions of 
developing countries. Japan looked forward to thei r joining the Agreement, not only because of the 
size of their markets, but also because of the benefits for their own sustainable development. As to the accession negotiations, Japan would continue to hold active negotiations to reach mutually 
satisfactory results. In this context, Japan expect ed to conclude negotiations with Montenegro very 
soon. With regard to New Zealand's accession, Japan expected New Zealand's final efforts to be forthcoming. Lastly but not least, Japan anticipated that China would submit its further revised 
offer with a high quality of commitments by the end of this year as it had committed itself to do. 
2.9.  The representative of Canada said that he would prefer to be offering words of 
congratulations on the coming into force of this important agreement. But he was heartened to see 
that Parties were now close to reaching the ratification quorum. Given the time-tested power of 
increased trade liberalization to stimulate economic growth, Parties were all eager to take 
advantage of the many remarkable opportunities for which this revised Agreement would allow. 
Prompt ratification of this Agreement would send a positive signal that the WTO could still be a 
relevant forum for pursuing trade liberalization, even it was only on a plurilateral basis. Canada 
sincerely hoped that the Committee would reach the threshold of 10 ratifications soon so that the GPA/M/54 
 
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  Agreement could come into force and Parties' respective companies could enjoy the fruit of the 
Committee's hard work. As such, he urged those who had yet to do so to deposit their instruments of acceptance as soon as possible. 
2.10.  Canada encouraged all WTO Members that were not yet Parties to the Agreement to 
consider the benefits of acceding to the GPA. Canada fully understood the benefits of greater 
access to procurement markets, and had just reac hed a very ambitious outcome on such markets 
with the European Union, as part of their comprehensive economic and trade agreement. 
2.11.  Regarding the accessions of New Zealand and Montenegro, Canada appreciated the 
considerable efforts that both countries had made to bring their accessions to a conclusion. Canada was very hopeful that the Committee would be in a position to welcome both New Zealand and Montenegro to the Agreement in the very near future. Accession should remain a key priority 
for the Committee in 2014, especially for China which was still well behind but was expected to 
submit a revised offer soon. 
2.12.  The finalization of the draft decisions on indi cative criteria and arbitration procedures should 
also be an objective for the Committee's work programme in 2014, as well as commencement of 
the work on the draft decision on compensatory adjustment. Once the revised GPA entered into force in the first quarter of 2014, Canada called fo r the Committee to start establishing the future 
work programmes set out under Article XXIV:7 of the revised GPA. 
2.13.  Canada thanked the Secretariat for its ongoing work on the e-GPA project which would 
provide an excellent information tool for governments and businesses. Canada also thanked the Secretariat for its efforts to provide technical assistance to potential GPA candidates, an important 
first step in promoting GPA member ship to the larger WTO family. 
2.14.  The representative of Korea said that he was encouraged that a number of the GPA Parties 
had already deposited their ratification instruments, while other Parties were in the process of 
doing so, with a view to bringing the revised GP A into force by the end of March 2014. He was 
pleased to inform the Committee that Korea would quite soon complete its domestic procedures and deposit its own instrument of acceptance. 
2.15.  The expansion of the membership of the GPA had been one of the Committee's key 
objectives. There had been significant progress in the accession negotiations of New Zealand, Montenegro and China. Korea looked forward to seeing an early and mutually satisfactory conclusion to these accession negotiations. He encouraged other WTO Members which had yet to 
do so to join the GPA. 
2.16.  The representative of Israel congratulate d the GPA Parties that had successfully submitted 
their instruments of acceptance, thereby bringing  Parties closer to the implementation of the 
revised GPA. Although Israel had not yet finalized its internal ratification process required for 
submission of its instrument of acceptance, it was very close to doing so, and expecting to submit its instrument in early 2014. 
2.17.  Israel was a strong supporter of the GPA. The Agreement fitted squarely within the 
demands of Israel's citizens. In Israel, as in many other parts of the world, there was a generalized call for government spending to be done in an effective, efficient and transparent manner. The revised GPA was a tool created to address these specific needs. Not only was there a 
significant expansion in government procurement market access, valued at around USD 100 billion 
annually, but Parties had also succeeded to amen d the current Agreement, and to make it more 
clear, user-friendly, and up-to-date with 21
st century practices. 
2.18.  GPA Parties' work and efforts had not gone unnoticed, which was why the Committee was 
currently working on several accessions. Out of  these, those of Montenegro and New Zealand 
could be singled out as the most advanced. It was his sincere hope that these two accession 
candidates would join the GPA soon, and that their accessions would open the door for more 
accessions to come in the next few months and years. Israel encouraged all WTO Members to take the necessary steps to become an observer and subsequently a party to the GPA.  GPA/M/54 
 
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  2.19.  In concluding, he said that the bringing into effect of the revised GPA, which was expected 
to occur soon, was also of systemic value. He hoped that the spirit of cooperation, which had 
prevailed in this Committee, would serve as an example for progress in other negotiation processes at the WTO. He expressed Israel's high est appreciation for the work of the Chairman, 
Mr Bruce Christie of Canada, and for the work  of the WTO Secretariat, and presented his 
congratulations to the Ministers of the GPA Parties present, as well as to all colleagues. 
2.20.  The representative of Hong Kong, China said that Hong Kong, China was grateful to the 
Chairman and the WTO Secretariat for arranging this Ministerial-level meeting. He was pleased to 
inform the Committee that Hong Kong, China had deposited its instrument of acceptance shortly before the meeting. Hong Kong, China sincerely hoped that the revised GPA could become operational as soon as possible. The revised GPA would bring about significant market 
liberalization in the government procurement sector. It also improved the transitional 
arrangements for developing and least-developed Members, facilitating such Members' participation in the Agreement. 
2.21.  Since Ministers' last meeting in Geneva two years ago, significant progress had been made 
in accession negotiations; in the development of an integrated GPA web portal; and in the formulation of criteria for modifying the covera ge of the Agreement. Hong Kong, China would 
continue to contribute and work closely with all Parties with a view to delivering results in all these 
areas. He also joined other Parties in encouraging WTO Members that were not yet Parties to the GPA to become observers to the Committee and to consider joining the revised Agreement.  
2.22.  The representative of Chinese Taipei said  that the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, 
Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu had joined the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement in 2009. 
Subsequently, his delegation had participated actively and constructively in the recent round of significant re-negotiation of the Agreement, with th e very satisfactory result of a modernized text 
and broader market access coverage. He had the pleasure and honour to announce that Chinese 
Taipei had already deposited its Instrument of Acceptance in November 2013. This was an important step on Parties' collective path towards the bringing into force of the revised GPA, which 
advanced the important principles of transparen cy, openness, efficiency and value-for-money in 
government procurement. Chinese Taipei endorsed  the shared objective of bringing the revised 
Agreement into force as soon as possible in 2014. 
2.23.  Chinese Taipei invited and encouraged additional WTO Members to start their accession 
processes and to join the GPA in the future. Indeed, the revised Agreement would also provide a 
strong foundation for a broader range of WTO Members to join the Agreement, and Chinese Taipei stood ready to work with other WTO Members to encourage and facilitate their accessions. It 
looked forward to welcoming several new Partie s to the Agreement in the near future. In 
concluding, he thanked the Chairman, the Committee and the Secretariat for the great efforts they 
had made to achieve Parties' common goals and to facilitate the work of the WTO going forward. 
2.24.  The representative of Switzerland said that , at the last Ministerial Conference in 2011, the 
GPA Parties had been able to announce the completion of the revised GPA. At the present 
conference in Bali, Parties again had reason to celebrate, namely the expected entry into force of the revised GPA by the end of March 2014. He congratulated those Parties who had managed to 
complete their domestic approval procedures. The ratification process was still under way in 
Switzerland. He hoped that Switzerland would be able to finalise its implementing legislation at the federal and sub-federal level as soon as possible.  
2.25.  The entry into force of the revised GPA cr eated a sound basis for further enlargement of the 
GPA membership. Important countries were knoc king at the GPA door: China, New Zealand, 
Montenegro, Ukraine, Jordan and Moldova. Others we re encouraged to follow. Future accessions to 
the GPA would reinforce the relevance of multilateral economic cooperation and increase the 
visibility and authority of the WTO. He thanked especially the WTO Secretariat and the Chairman 
of the Committee for their active work and their technical assistance activities for interested Members. All Parties were the beneficiaries of these efforts.  
2.26.  The representative of Singapore said that  the 2011 conclusion of the revised Agreement on 
Government Procurement had been a significant ou tcome. Parties had before them an Agreement 
that contained enhanced procurement disciplines and increased access to procurement GPA/M/54 
 
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  opportunities for their companies. The revised GPA also provided useful lessons for other areas of 
the WTO's work, in particular that, with political will, it was possible to reach agreement at the WTO. 
2.27.  Singapore remained committed to Parties' common goal of bringing the revised GPA into 
force as early as possible. It would ratify the revised GPA and deposit its instrument of acceptance 
with the WTO by the agreed deadline of the first quarter of 2014. 
2.28.  Singapore was a strong supporter of open , transparent and non-discriminatory international 
procurement practices. It was its view that the plurilateral GPA need not stay plurilateral forever. 
Attracting more participants should be the Parties' principal goal. In this connection, Singapore was heartened by the ongoing engagement of several Members in their accession negotiations with GPA Parties; and the four recent new observers to the Committee. 
2.29.  The representative of Norway said that the revised Agreement on which Parties had agreed 
two years previously confirmed the importance  of transparent measures in government 
procurement. This was essential in order to avoid conflicts of interest and corrupt practices. He 
was happy to confirm that Norway had deposite d its instrument of acceptance three weeks 
previously and encouraged all Parties who had no t yet done so to expedite their processes of 
acceptance. Referring to paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Ministerial Declaration just adopted, he 
stressed the importance of increased membership of the Agreement on Government Procurement. 
In this context, he was pleased to note that the revised offers of New Zealand and Montenegro should pave the way for their early accession to the Agreement. 
2.30.  The representative of Iceland underlined th e economic importance of the revised Agreement 
on Government Procurement and commended the hard  work done by Parties. The revised GPA not 
only modernized the existing Agreement but al so further opened up government procurement 
markets, increased foreseeability for economic op erators and helped curbing corruption. The more 
efficient use of taxpayers' money the revised GPA would bring about should furthermore not be 
underestimated, given the economic challenges  that WTO Members were all facing today. 
2.31.  In Iceland, the Parliamentary process was starting in December. Given the normal time of 
such processes, it was realistic to assume that Iceland would have completed its ratification 
process by the end of March of 2014. Iceland thus aimed to contribute to Parties' jointly-stated objective of bringing the revised GPA into force by 31 March 2014. He also welcomed the efforts of acceding Members to the Agreement, in particular  of New Zealand, Montenegro and China. Iceland 
hoped that some of the processes would start to bear fruit soon. Iceland encouraged other WTO 
Members to consider accession and spread the be nefits of this significant Agreement further. 
3  STATEMENTS BY OBSERVERS 
3.1.  The representative of Montenegro said that Montenegro was participating in a WTO 
Ministerial Conference as a full-fledged Member  of the Organization for the first time. Now 
Montenegro sought to also become a full-fledged Member of the Committee, and a Party to the 
WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, in the very near future. 
3.2.  Montenegro had submitted its first GPA coverage offer to the Committee on 
4 November 2013, less than a month after its application for accession to the Agreement. In addition to providing comprehensive and very credible coverage for a country of Montenegro's 
modest size, the offer had sought to provide an exemplary level of clarity and transparency with 
respect to the adjustments to Montenegro's coverage that would need to be made when Montenegro would complete its accession to the European Union, as was expected within three to 
four years. 
3.3.  The Montenegrin delegation, led by its chief negotiator for GPA accession, Mr Mujovi ć, had 
made itself freely available to discuss its offer with interested Parties, in the framework of the 
Committee's recent meetings. And it had provided comprehensive information on Montenegro's 
procurement legislation and regulatory framework, which was fully consistent with both the GPA and the relevant European Union Directives. GPA/M/54 
 
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  3.4.  Most recently, on 27 November 2013, Montenegro had circulated a revised GPA accession 
offer. The offer responded forthrightly and generously to the comments and requests for improvement that had been provided to Montenegro by Parties based on its initial offer. While she recognized that Parties needed some additional time to assess the offer, she asked them to give 
careful consideration to it. Montenegro had worked hard to respond to the comments and requests 
that had been put to it, and would continue working with the GPA Parties to conclude negotiations on its accession with the aim to join the Agreement early in 2014. 
3.5.  The revised GPA was an emerging gold standard of best practices in government 
procurement internationally. It was an important example of successful market access negotiations in the WTO. And, its expected entry into force earl y next year showed the continuing vitality of the 
Committee and of WTO negotiating functions. She sincerely congratulated all GPA Parties for the 
successful adoption of this day's Declaration. Montenegro looked forward to making its own 
contribution to this project, for the benefit of the GPA Parties; the WTO; and Montenegro. She asked for Parties' cooperation in making Montenegro's GPA accession a reality in the near future. 
3.6.  The representative of China congratulated all GPA Parties on the upcoming entry into force of 
the new GPA. As the Declaration set out, the revised GPA was significant for world trade, 
prosperity and development. It would also exert profound influence on China's government 
procurement regime. China had begun its GPA accession negotiations six years earlier. Various 
challenges and hard core issues were still before China. The Chinese Government attached great importance to the negotiation process and had established an inter-agency mechanism led by a vice premier. With such a mechanism, the proc ess of China's accession could be expedited. 
Nonetheless, such an early accession for China not only depended on China's own efforts, but also 
needed equal efforts from all Parties.  
3.7.  Continuing, he thanked the WTO Secretariat and the GPA Parties for the technical assistance 
they had provided to China in recent years. Such assistance was very important to China as its 
government procurement regime was still at an early stage of development. China hoped to continue such cooperation in the future. 
3.8.  The representative of Viet Nam said that Viet Nam had been an observer to the GPA since 
December 2012, showing a stride forward in Viet Nam's process of international integration. Since 
then, Viet Nam had kept close watch on the developments concerning the GPA. Viet Nam appreciated the efforts made by those GPA Parties that had ratified the Protocol to revise the GPA. 
Viet Nam expected further efforts of existing Part ies in ratifying the revised GPA, hence putting it 
into effect. 
3.9.  Since becoming a GPA observer, Viet Nam had made tremendous efforts in amending and 
supplementing its legal framework on government procurement to create a fair, transparent and 
competitive market for government procurement. In this regard, the National Assembly of Viet Nam was now considering the adoption of a Law on Public Investment. Viet Nam would 
continue to follow the progress in the GPA and learn from the GPA Parties in building the legal 
framework on government procurement. 
3.10.  The representative of New Zealand expressed New Zealand's disappointment and 
puzzlement at the apparent impasse over its GPA accession request. He thanked those Parties that 
had spoken and had expressed optimism that New Zealand might join the GPA early next year. He 
hoped that this would be the case and that his comments during today's meeting would prove to be quite unnecessary. But in case, he desired to ma ke a few political observations for the record. 
3.11.  New Zealand's strong view of principle was that each GPA accession candidate had to be 
looked at on its own merits. New Zealand was a small but sophisticated economy; a very open market; and possibly, one of the most centralised governments in the developed world. It had 
made an impressive initial offer in its accession negotiations, and had then sought to make two 
further improvements through normal political processes, i.e. by consulting with other Ministries and with agencies for their agreement. 
3.12.  He could be categorical: there would be no further improvement in New Zealand's offer. 
New Zealand had offered entities responsible for procurement worth around UDS 20 billion. Not 
many GPA Parties offered equivalent access to th eir own procurement markets, relative to their GPA/M/54 
 
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  size. He was not prepared to go back to seek further flexibility and what Parties saw on table was 
what they would get. Members could, for whatever reason, continue to block New Zealand's accession by requesting it do more. But that approach raised the question of what useful purpose it would serve. 
4  CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING 
4.1.  Concluding the session, the Chairman said th at, in terms of the bringing into force of the 
revised GPA, Parties had reaffirmed their commitment to the timeline of 31 March 2014. Seven 
Parties had already deposited their instruments of acceptance and the Committee was looking 
forward to another three or more deposits as soon as possible to meet the timeline. 
4.2.  In terms of accessions to the Agreement, Parties had noted the importance of expanding the 
Agreement and had indicated clear interest in accelerating all on-going accession negotiations. 
Among them, Montenegro and New Zealand were closest to reaching the finish line. In response to 
New Zealand's intervention, he encouraged Parties to work closely with New Zealand and to make its accession a priority after the Ministerial Conference. With regard to China's accession, he joined 
the Parties in urging China to accelerate the process in 2014 and welcomed China's commitment to 
submit its next revised offer by the end of 2013. GPA/M/54 
 
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  ATTACHMENT 
  
GPA/122  
 
3 December 2013  
(13-6608)  Page: 1/1  
Committee on Government Procurement   
MINISTERIAL-LEVEL MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 
(3 DECEMBER 2013, AT BALI, INDONESIA) 
DECLARATION 
1.  We, the Parties to the WTO Agreement on  Government Procurement ("the Agreement"), 
meeting at Ministerial level at Bali, note with satisfaction that already seven instruments of 
acceptance have been deposited regarding the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government 
Procurement ("the Protocol"), adopted at Geneva  on 30 March 2012. On the basis of these and 
other instruments of acceptance that are expected to be deposited in the near future, we declare 
our shared objective of bringing the revised Agreem ent into force, pursuant to paragraph 3 of the 
Protocol, as soon as possible, and in any event not later than 31 March 2014. We undertake to do our utmost to facilitate this outcome, bearing in mind the requirements of our respective domestic 
processes. 
2.  The entry into force of the revised Agreement recognizes the crucial importance of government 
procurement as a dimension of economic activity, and its significance for world trade, prosperity and development. It effectively modernizes the Agreement; expands access to government 
procurement markets by an estimated USD 80-100 billion annually; promotes good governance 
and deters corruption; and facilitates the effective management of public resources. 
3.  We acknowledge the efforts that some WTO Members are making to accede to the Agreement 
on mutually satisfactory terms, in particular  New Zealand, Montenegro and China, and shall 
continue to work with them to this end. 
4.  We invite and encourage all WTO Members that are not yet Parties to the Agreement to 
consider the possibility of accession, noting that developing and least developed Members can, 
subject to negotiations, benefit from the improv ed transitional measures incorporated in the 
revised Agreement. We particularly ask the delegations whose accession negotiations have remained inactive for an extended period of time  to renew their efforts to complete the accession 
process. Equally, we invite all interested WTO Members to become Observers to the Committee on 
Government Procurement ("the Committee"), in order to gain familiarity with the opportunities that accession to the Agreement can provide. 
5.  We recognize and support the efforts of the WTO Secretariat, with the support of GPA Parties 
where appropriate, to provide technical assistance, upon request, in particular for developing and 
least developed WTO Members considering joining the revised Agreement. 
6.  We, equally, recognize and support the ongoing work, to be completed by the Secretariat in 
consultation with the Committee, to create an integrated web portal on government procurement based on Parties' market access schedules, notifications and other information, as a market access information tool for governments and businesses. 
7.  We commit ourselves to the early finalization of  the ongoing work by Parties on decisions to be 
adopted by the Committee pursuant to Article XIX:8 of the revised Agreement with respect to modifications and rectifications to coverage, in a way that is satisfactory to all Parties. 
8.  We call for the prompt initiation of work, following the coming into force of the revised 
Agreement, on the Committee's Future Work Progra mmes set out in Appendix 2 of the Decision on 
the Outcomes of the Negotiations under Article XXIV:7 of the Agreement that was adopted on 
30 March 2012 (GPA/113), noting that the Work Programmes are important to facilitate mutual 
understanding of Parties' approaches to the im plementation of the revised Agreement, and to 
improve its administration over time. 
__________