RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/71  
 
25 May 2018  
(18-3153) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Government Procurement   
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMA L MEETING OF 1 4 MARCH 2018  
CHAIRMAN: MR JOHN NE WHAM (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 proposed agenda was as 
follows:  
 
1. Chairmanship of the Committee in 2018;  
2. Other Business, if any.  
Concernin g the first agenda item, namely  the Chairmanship, the Chairman said that follo wing the 
action to be taken on this item, he would make a brief statement regarding some of the challenges 
and opportunities facing the Committee and what the Committee might hope to achieve in the 
current year. He would, subsequently, open the floor for a ny delegations that wish ed to speak.  
 
In regard to Other Business, the Chairman said that he would recall for the record  the dates that 
had been reserved for further substantive meetings of the Committee in 2018.  
 
No other items of other business had been proposed by delegations.  
 
The Committee adopted  the agenda, with the clarifications noted above.  
 
1  CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE IN 2018  
1.1.  The Chairman recalled that he had previously informed the Committee, in his  fax dated 
14 February 2018, that he would no t be available to serve as Chairman after June 2018. He had, 
in that context, indicated his readiness to step down at the conclusion of the present meetings, if 
delegations so desired.  
1.2.  Currently, he understood that three candidates had expressed interest i n the position.2 The 
level of interest and the quality of the candidates  was a very encouraging sign and was to be 
welcomed. In this context, he noted that delegations had asked  him to continue as Chairman 
through to the Committee's meetings in June 2018, and to undertake consultations with 
delegations and the candidates, with a view to confirming a new Chair in the course of the June 
meetings.  
1.3.  The Committee re-elected  Mr John NEWHAM (Ireland) as its Chairman through the 
Committee's meetings in June 2018. I t asked  Mr Newham  to conduct consultations to facilitate the 
confirmation of the next Chairman in the course of its meetings in  June.  
1.4.  The Chairman  thanked delegations for their continued trust in him. He said that it was a 
privilege and an honour to serve as Chairman of the Committee. He wished to set out some 
proposed goals for the year for the consideration of the Committee. It was his belief that, going 
forward, 2018 could be another significant year for the Committee, witnessing important progress 
on diverse aspects of its work. In this context, the Committee might wish to consider committing 
                                                
1 WTO/AIR/GPA/ 13, dated  2 March 2018.  
2 It is understood that, subsequently, one of the original three candidates has withdrawn from 
consideration for the Chairmanship.  GPA/M/71  
 
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  itself to do whatever it could  to achieve further significant progress in the following five specific 
areas.  These were subject to the Committee's evolving interest s and relevant constraints, and any 
feedback and suggestions from delegations.  
 First, concerning the entry into force of the revised Agreement , he looked forward to 
seeing the one delegation that had still to accept the 2012 Protocol to amend the GPA do 
its very best to complete all remaining steps to formally do so. This was important to 
enable the Committee to work efficiently and move forward with confidence. Also, the 
Committee would need to give its attention to two or three related review requirements  
that were built into the revised Agreement.  
 Secondly , he hoped that the Committee would continue to make good progress on 
pending and future accessions to the Agreement . For instance, with respect to the 
accession of Australia, the final market access of fer was at the present time before the 
Committee. In this case, the necessary decisions could be taken without undue delay, 
while respecting the negotiating interests of all Parties in regard to this important 
accession. Further more, he hoped that the Comm ittee would aim to conclude work 
during the year, circumstances permitting, on the accessions of Tajikistan and the  
Kyrgyz Republic. W ith respect to China, he hoped that no opportunity would be lost to 
move forward this very important accession.  
 Still on t he topic of accessions, he expressed his confidence that Parties, and the Russian 
Federation itself, would do their best to move forward discussions on that delegation's 
accession in a constructive manner. Regarding  the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedoni a, without prejudice to the views that Parties would express in the informal 
plurilateral session  later that morning , there seemed to be hope s for a quick and 
relatively easy conclusion. Furthermore, it was , very much , his hope that the incoming 
Chairperson, the Committee, and interested Parties , working in cooperation with the 
Secretariat,  would continue their active promotion of the Agreement in Latin America 
and in other regions of the world.  
 Thirdly , he hoped that t he Committee would continue to move forward effectively in 
regard to its various agreed Work Programmes . Regarding both the SME and the 
Sustainability Work Programmes, the Committee was at or close to the stage of 
preparation of final reports. The Committe e should aim to have these issued, if possible 
in the course of the c urrent year. H e hoped that the Committee would, additionally, 
continue to move toward a conclusion of work on the Work Programme on Statistics. As 
regards the other Work Programmes, it wa s his understanding that the Committee would 
take these up as and when appropriate . 
 The completion of the Work Programmes would be a very useful addition to the GPA 
acquis . The relevant Committee decisions, found in Annex 2 of document GPA/113 of 
2nd April 2012, he ld the Work Programmes to be important for transparency; for the 
efficient and effective implementation of the Agreement; and, at least in some respects, 
for the future negotiations that are mandated to be initiated under Article XXII:7 of the 
revised Agreement. With regard to those negotiations, his consultations indicated that 
Parties would  reflect on the matter as and when further progress was made across the 
Work Programmes.  
 In a related vein, as already stated during the Committee's meetings at the conclusion of 
2017, he hoped t hat the Committee would undertake an effort to explore and assess the 
implications  of ongoing technological developments  in the world of government 
procurement for its w ork. This issue was clearly linked to aspects of the Work 
Programmes that were already mandated, for instance on Statistics and Notifications. It 
also had implications for e -government procurement systems, might have an influence 
on future accessions, and might be relevant to the future development and evolution of 
the e-GPA system.  
 Finally , regarding the WTO e -GPA system , he expressed the hope that the Committee 
would  give ongoing  consideration to its  future direction and evolution . GPA/M/71  
 
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  2  OTHER BUSINESS  
2.1.  The Chairman recalled that the dates that had previously been reserved for further 
substantive meetings of the Committee in 2018, beyond the present meeting, as set out in a fax 
by the Secretariat3, were:  
 The week beginning 25 June 2018 , including plurilateral ses sions to take place on 
Wednesday, 27 June 2018; and  
 The week beginning 15 October 2018 , including plurilateral sessions to be held on 
Wednesday, 17  October  2018.  
2.2.  For completeness, the above dates were exclusive of the Committee's end -of-year 
housekeeping m eeting, to be scheduled, at which participation by Geneva -based officials only 
would be expected, and any other short meetings, similarly covered by Geneva officials, that might 
be necessary to respond to contingencies.  
 
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3 RD/GPA/55, dated 7 November 2017.