WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  GPA/W/308 
6 October 2009 
 
 (09-4785) 
Committee on Government Procurement  
  
 
WTO SECRETARIAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES RELEVANT TO THE 
AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 
 
Note by the Secretariat
 
 
 
This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility 
and is without prejudice to the positions  of participants and to their rights 
and obligations under the Agreemen t on Government Procurement.  
 
 
 In response to the interest shown in the course of the informal sessions on government 
procurement that took place in July , and at the request of the Chai rman, this document sets out basic 
information relating to the Secretariat's technical assistance activities in the area of government 
procurement.  An Annex to the document lists th e individual activities (incluidng regional, national 
and Geneva activities) that have been organized by the Secretariat in 2008 and 2009.  Any comments 
or suggestions are welcome, recognizing that the Secretariat's technical assistance programme is 
independently managed by the Secretariat under the overall supervision of the WTO Committee on 
Trade and Development, including through preparation of the WTO's biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan.  
1. Structure and basic elements of the Secretariat technical assistance programme on 
government procurement 
 The Secretariat's technical assistance programme in the area of government procurement 
consists of two main types of activities:  (i) regional workshops , to which all WTO Members and 
observers in a particular region are invited, and wh ich are organized for all regions of the developing 
world/the economies in transition accordin g to a two-year cycle;  and (ii) national workshops , which 
are organized for individual WTO Members/observers with particular needs, on specific request by 
those Members/observers to the Secretariat (demands  for such events are growing).  Periodically, the 
Secretariat also organizes workshops in Geneva to  which a range of GPA observers and other WTO 
Members or observers from dive rse regions may be invited.  Typically, regional and Geneva 
workshops are of three days in duration;  while national workshops normally are a day and a half or 
two days in duration, although they can be longer depending on the needs of the host country. 
 
 The broad objectives of the Secretariat's regiona l and Geneva workshops are:  (i) to raise 
participants' awareness of key concepts and devel opments in the area of government procurement, 
particularly concerning the WTO Agreement on Govern ment Procurement (GPA);  and (ii) to enhance 
awareness of the potential benefits for them of partic ipating in relevant international instruments.  The 
workshops also aim to facilitate policy-making on  the subject of government procurement at the 
domestic and regional level. 
  Reflecting the above objectives, the content of  regional workshops normally consists of a 
range of topics relating to:  (i) the importance of, and the means for achieving, competition and 
transparency in government procurement markets;  (ii) the main elements of the Agreement on GPA/W/308 
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  Government Procurement (GPA) and the potential be nefits of accession to the Agreement both in 
terms of providing access to the markets of other GPA Parties and
 in achieving value for money for 
governments and taxpayers in their own public purchasing activities;  (iii) the modalities for accession to the Agreement;  (iv) enforcement procedures und er the Agreement, including both domestic review 
procedures and WTO dispute settlement;  and (v) special  topics of interest in the region (e.g. regional 
trading arrangements of particular significance for economies in the region; the treatment of 
state-owned enterprises under the GPA;  measures to ensure integrity and to prevent collusion among 
suppliers in public procurement markets; etc.).  Re gional events organized by the Secretariat typically 
include practical exercises on matters such as accessing and reading the GPA schedules (Appendix I annexes) or preparing an Appendix I offer in add ition to more traditional lectures, presentations and 
discussions. 
  The objectives and subject-matter of nationa l workshops on government procurement for 
WTO Members and observers are individually defi ned in consultation with the Member/observer 
requesting the workshop.  Typically, such works hops are intended either to help the requesting 
authority assess its potential interests in GPA accessi on or (where there is already a commitment to 
accede) to carry forward the accession process.  In add ition to basic material on the nature and content 
of the GPA, national workshops may (or may not) ha ve a particular focus on matters such as the 
content of Parties' schedules or the modalities of GPA accession.  The demand for national workshops 
in the area of government procurement is growing.  
 With regard to the target audiences for the Secretariat's workshops, subject to budgetary 
authorizations WTO Members and observers particip ating in regional workshops are normally invited 
to send two participants each to the event.  When this is the case, the invitation documents stipulate 
that one of the two participants must be from th e Member/observer's commerce or trade ministry and 
the other must be from the national procurement authority, finance ministry or treasury, or other 
ministry with policy authority in this area.  Th is recognizes that authority over procurement policy 
issues is often split between relevant ministries.  It  is also intended to ensure broad dissemination of 
the ideas and principles discussed and to encourage o ngoing conversations between the participants in 
their respective capitals.   In the case of national workshops , the target audience is defined by the requesting authority.  
Depending on its wishes, the audience may or may not  include interested academics, representatives 
of the private sector and/or non-governmental organi zations, and sub-central in addition to central 
government officials.  National workshops have been conducted for as many as 120 persons (mainly 
sub-central government officials of a large GPA accession candidate) and as few as 6-8 persons (the entire core team of persons invol ved in negotiating a small accessi on candidate's admission to the 
Agreement). 
  Subject to contingencies, national work shops are normally conducted solely by WTO 
Secretariat officials.  In the case of regional wo rkshops, the Secretariat resource persons may be 
complemented by other experts.  Depending on the nature of the intended programme and the 
Secretariat's assessment of the needs and interest s of the particular region, these may include:  
(i) representatives of other intergovernmental or ganizations (e.g. UNCITRAL, the OECD or the 
World Bank);  (ii) academic experts on the GPA and/or national procurement laws, policies and 
institutions;  (iii) representatives of non-government al organizations;  and (iv) experienced senior 
trade negotiators that are made available by their national governments to participate in a particular 
activity. 
  GPA/W/308 
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  2. Insights from recent Secretariat technical cooperation activities 
 Recent WTO technical assistance activities in the area of government procurement have given 
rise to a number of insights for the responsible Secret ariat officials.  To begin with, there appears to 
be growing awareness among participating countries of the importance of procurement policies as an 
aspect of governance with major implications for de velopment and the welfare of citizens.  In this 
context, there is a keen interest in most regions not only to gain a deeper understanding of the GPA as 
an international instrument, but also to reflect on its relationship to related national policies, reform 
processes and strategic choices.   Second, whereas in the past, only a limited number of WTO Members would have been 
viewed as being potentially ready to negotiate GPA accession, in the Secretariat's experience a larger 
and growing number of Members and observers ha ve now implemented reforms to their national 
legislation and procurement policies that make them potentially ready, either now or a later stage, to 
consider accession to the Agreement.  The main fact ors underlying this trend appear to be:  (i) the 
above-noted growing awareness among such countries of the importance of procurement policies as 
an aspect of governance with implications for developm ent and the welfare of citizens;  (ii) reforms to 
national procurement systems that are implemented to facilitate the use of such systems in relation to 
assistance provided by multilateral development banks and other organizations, with a view to making 
more effective use of such assistance
1;  and (iii) reforms driven by countries' participation in regional 
trade agreements that require adherence to GPA- style disciplines (of whic h there are an increasing 
number).  On the other hand, in many regions of the world, countries face significant internal 
challenges in implementing fully transparent and non-discriminatory procurement policies. 
  The Secretariat's technical assistance work h as also highlighted the desirability, resources 
permitting, of developing a broade r array of more-focused programmes tailored to the needs of WTO 
Members acceding to the GPA.  For example, the Se cretariat GPA team sees a need for development 
of focused programmes that would deal with par ticular topics such as the implementation of GPA-
consistent domestic review procedures in addition to  intensive courses that would last longer than the 
standard duration of three days for regional events.   The Secretariat's activities have also made cl ear that, while some participating countries 
prefer to focus on the technical requirements and modalities of GPA accession, others prefer a more 
holistic approach whereby accession to the Agreement is viewed in the context of other initiatives 
such as national reforms aimed at achieving va lue for money for governments and citizens, and 
domestic measures to strengthen competition and pr event collusion among potential suppliers.  In 
particular, participants in many Secretariat work shops have shown awareness of the potential for 
corrupt or collusive tendering practices to undermine th e potential benefits of market liberalization in 
this area. 
  In addition, the Secretariat' s work suggests that there are important complementarities and 
synergies between the WTO's activities in this ar ea and the work of UNCITRAL, the OECD, the 
World Bank, and a number of regiona l organizations, in addition to br oader initiatives relating to good 
governance and the fight against corruption.  Par tly in recognition of this, representatives of 
UNCITRAL and the World Bank have participated as resource persons in various WTO activities and 
the Secretariat attempts, as far as possible, to mainta in informal links with all of these organizations. 
                                                     
 
1 This is a key objective of the so -called Paris Declaration of 2005 and the Accra Agenda for Action of 
2008.  Additional information on these initiatives is available on the website of the OECD. GPA/W/308 
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  ANNEX 
 
DETAILS OF MAIN SECRETARIAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES ON 
GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT IN 2008 AND 2009 
  
I. GENEVA WORKSHOPS 
EVENT DATES LOCATION P ARTICIPATING COUNTRIES 
Workshop on the GPA 01/07/08 - 
03/07/08 Geneva, 
Switzerland Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bahrain, Bosnia 
and Herzegovina, Botswana , Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, 
China, Colombia, Croatia, FYROM, Georgia, Ghana, 
Guatemala, India, Iran, Ira q, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, 
Malaysia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, 
New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, 
Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, Turkey, Ukraine, Viet Nam 
and Yemen 
II. REGIONAL WORKSHOPS 
EVENT DATES LOCATION PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES 
Workshop on 
Government 
Procurement for the 
Asia-Pacific Region Planned 
for 
24/11/09 – 
26/11/09 Bangkok, 
Thailand Bangladesh; Bhutan; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; 
China; Fiji; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; 
Korea, Republic of; La o PDR; Macao, China; 
Malaysia; Maldives; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea;  Philippines; Russian 
Federation, Samoa; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Solomon 
Islands; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; Tonga; Turkey, 
Vanuatu; and Viet Nam (invited) 
Workshop on Government 
Procurement for Central and Eastern 
Europe and Central 
Asia 07/09/09 - 
09/09/09 Vienna, 
Austria Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, 
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croati a, Georgia, Iran, Israel, 
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Re public, Former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, 
Russian Federation, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, 
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan 
Workshop on Government 
Procurement for 
English-speaking African countries 16/06/09 - 
18/06/09 Accra, Ghana Botswana, Egypt; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gambia; Ghana; 
Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Malawi; Mauritius; 
Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Rwanda; Seychelles; 
Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe. 
Workshop on 
Government 
Procurement for Arab and Middle East 
countries 08/06/09 - 
10/06/09 Tunis, Tunisia Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, 
Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, 
Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia (host), United Arab Emirates, Yemen. 
Workshop on 
Government 
Procurement for 02/12/08 - 
04/12/08 Niamey, Niger Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, 
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, 
Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire,  GPA/W/308 
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  EVENT DATES LOCATION PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES 
French-speaking 
African countries Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-
Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia 
Workshop on Government 
Procurement for the 
Caribbean 08/07/08 - 
10/07/08 Kingston, 
Jamaica Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; 
Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica; 
Montserrat; St Kitts Nevis; Sa int Lucia; St Vincent and 
the Grenadines; Suriname; Trinidad & Tobago. 
Workshop on Government 
Procurement for Latin 
American countries 20/05/08 - 
22/05/08 Montevideo, 
Uruguay Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa 
Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El 
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, 
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay (Host) and Venezuela 
III. NATIONAL WORKSHOPS 
EVENT DATES LOCATION SPECIAL FOCUS 
National workshop on the Agreement 
on Government Procurement To be 
determined Chisinau, Moldova Main elements of the 
GPA and the 
accession process 
National workshop on the Agreement on Government Procurement 29/09/09 - 
29/09/09 Macao, China Main elements of the 
GPA 
National workshops on the 
Agreement on Government Procurement 29/07/09 - 
04/08/09 Hangzhou and Beijing, China, 
P.R. (separate workshops for sub-central and central 
government officials) Main elements of the 
GPA and the accession process 
National workshop on the Agreement 
on Government Procurement 02/04/09 - 
03/04/09 Hanoi, Viet Nam Overview of GPA 
and potential 
benefits/costs of 
accession 
National workshop on the Government Procurement Agreement 10/02/09 - 
11/02/09 Yerevan, Armenia Legal requirements of 
GPA accession and 
the accession process 
National workshop on Government Procurement 10/06/08 - 
11/06/08 Cotonou, Benin Main elements of the 
GPA; relation to 
competition policy 
objectives and concerns 
National workshop on Government 
Procurement 12/02/08 - 
13/02/08 Oranjestad, Aruba Main elements of the 
GPA; preparation of 
Aruba's revised offer in the GPA coverage 
negotiations 
 
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