S/C/46
18 December 2014
(14-7393)  Page: 1/2
Council for Trade in Services   
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIRMAN 
HIGH-LEVEL MEETING TO BE CONVENED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE OPERATIONALIZATION OF THE 
WAIVER CONCERNING PREFERENTIAL TREATMEN T TO SERVICES AND SERVICE SUPPLIERS OF 
LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
5-6 February 2015 
The Ministerial Decision on the Operalization of the Waiver concerning Preferential Treatment to 
Services and Service Suppliers of Least-Developed Countries, adopted in Bali on 7 December 2013 
(WT/L/918), calls upon the Council for Trade in Services to convene a High-Level Meeting six months after the submission of a collective re quest by LDCs. Accordingly, the Group of LDCs 
submitted a collective request on 21 July 2014 (S/C/W/356).  
 
Further to the consensus established through the Communication by the Chairman of the General Council, dated 16 December 2014 (WT/GC/W/693), that the dates of 5-6 February 2015 for the 
convening of the High-Level Meeting shall be deemed  to be fully compliant with the Bali Ministerial 
Decision, the following are the organizational arrangements that emerged from the informal 
meeting of the Council for Trade in Services on 15 December 2014:  
 
• The High-Level Meeting will be convened as a formal meeting of the Council for Trade in 
Services, with a formal record in the form of minutes, in line with the Rules of Procedure of the Council. 
• The meeting will be convened at "high-level". The Airgram will contain a sentence 
indicating that high-level representation at Ministerial level will be welcome.  
• The proposed agenda for the meeting will comprise the following items:   
 
(A) Opening statements by the Director-G eneral, the Chairman of the Council for 
Trade in Services, and the Coordinator of the LDC Group; 
 
(B) Indications by developed and developing Members, in a position to do so, of 
sectors and modes of supply where they  intend to provide preferential 
treatment to LDC services and service suppliers, and of the expected time-
frame for the notification of such preferences;   
 
(C) Notifications of preferential treatment to services and service suppliers of Least-
Developed Countries with respect to the application of measures described in 
Article XVI of the GATS, in accordance with paragraph 1 of the Decision on 
Preferential Treatment to Services and Service Suppliers of Least-Developed 
Countries, adopted on 17 December 2011 (WT/L/847); 
 
(D) Consideration of requests for approval of preferential treatment to services and 
service suppliers of Least-Developed Countries with respect to the application of 
measures other than those described in Article XVI of the GATS, in accordance 
with paragraph 1 of the Decision on Pr eferential Treatment to Services and 
Service Suppliers of Least-Developed Countries, adopted on 17 December 2011 
(WT/L/847); 
 S/C/46 
 
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  (E) Next steps; 
 
(F) Other business. 
 
• The Airgram convening the High-Level Meet ing will be issued on 26 January 2015 
(i.e. ten days before the High-Level Meeting).   
• Proposed agenda items (C) and (D) will be included in the Airgram if notifications or 
requests for approval are received before th e deadline for the issuance of the Airgram. 
 
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