. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  GPA/M/43 
22 March 2011  
 
(11-1435) 
Committee on Government Procurement  
  
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMAL MEETING OF 9 MARCH 2011 
 
Chairman:  Mr. Nicholas Niggli (Switzerland)
 
  
1. The Chairman
 said that, in preparation for the meeting, delegations had received an airgram1 
setting out the proposed agenda.  The agenda, as outlined in the airgram, was as follows: 
 A. Concerning Armenia's accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement, 
approval by the Committee regarding the le gislation that Armenia has adopted:  
confirmation that Armenia has met the te rms and conditions for its accession and, 
therefore, may deposit its instrument of accession to the Agreement. 
  B. Other Business.  2. The Chairman said that, under the heading of  Other Business, he intended to note his 
understanding regarding the chairmanship of th e Committee in the period up to the summer break. 
3. The Committee adopted
 the agenda, as proposed by the Chairman. 
A. ACCESSION TO THE AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT :  APPROVAL BY THE 
COMMITTEE REGARDING THE LEGISLATION THAT ARMENIA HAS ADOPTED  
4. The Chairman  said that the main purpose of the meeting was to confirm, as called for in the 
Committee's Decision of 7 December 20102, that Armenia had met the terms and conditions for its 
accession, specifically with respect to its national le gislation, and that it may, therefore, deposit its 
instrument of accession to the Agreement.  Under the said Decision, Armenia was required to adopt 
and bring into force legislation in conformity w ith the provisions of the Agreement on Government 
Procurement, as required by Article XXIV:5(a) of the Agreement, and to submit the legislation for 
review by the Committee, together with information re garding its entry into force.  In this context, on 
8 February 2011, Armenia had provid ed the final text of its legislation, in English, to the Committee.3  
Armenia's accompanying communication had confirme d that:  (i) the Law on Procurement had been 
adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic  of Armenia on 22 December 2010 and signed by 
the President of the Republic of Armenia on 28 December 2010;  (ii) the Law (LA-206-N) had 
entered into force on l January 2011;  and (iii)  the new Law was in full conformity with the 
Agreement, and all recommendations that had been received from Parties had been taken into account 
in its finalization. 
5. Continuing, he said that, based on his cont acts with delegations, he understood that a 
consensus existed in the Committe e that Armenia had indeed met the terms and conditions for its 
                                                      
1 WTO/AIR/3703, dated 21 February 2011. 
2 GPA/105, dated 7 December 2010. 
3 GPA/ACC/ARM/12, dated 10 February 2011. GPA/M/43 
Page 2  
 
  accession, including with respect to its national legi slation.  He accordingly invited the Committee to 
confirm that Armenia might proceed to deposit its instrument of accession. 
6. The Committee confirmed
 that Armenia had met the term s and conditions of its accession 
with regard to its national legislati on, and accordingly, that it may proceed  to deposit its instrument of 
accession. 
7. The representative of Armenia  thanked the Committee for its Decision.  He said that his 
capital would work expeditiously with a view to  depositing the instrument of accession as soon as 
possible. 
8. The Chairman  said that, in applying for GPA accession and fulfilling all the related conditions 
in a very timely fashion, Armenia had shown co urage, fortitude and wisdom.  It had made a 
commitment to good governance that would be noted around the world, and which had made it a 
leader in its region.  He saluted the engagement and professionalism of the delegation of, and authorities in, Armenia.  He identified four lessons that could be learned from this accession process. 
9. First
, he noted that a factor which had facilitate d rapid conclusion of Armenia's accession was 
that significant attention had been given by the Committee, from the outset, to Armenia's legislative 
framework in addition to its coverage offer.  He  suggested that issues of the adequacy and GPA-
conformity of national legislation might well be equally important in the context of other accessions 
to the Agreement, in the future.  Second , the new structure and format that had been used for the basic 
Decision on Armenia's accession that was taken in December, and which had been developed for the Committee by the Secretariat based on Parties' s uggestions, had been helpful in this respect. 
10. Third
, the input on legislative issues that had b een provided to Armenia by SIGMA and other 
organizations, in addition to that which had been provided by Parties and by the Secretariat, 
particularly in the seminars that it has organized for Armenia, had played a useful role in the process.  
In future accessions, the Committee and the Secretariat would, in all likelihood, need to work more 
and more with such organizations.  Fourth , it was important to note that, in moving forward with its 
accession, Armenia had been motivated not only by ma rket access objectives and interests but also by 
its belief that GPA accession would be useful in terms of promoting good governance objectives, and 
would also facilitate positive linkages and associati ons with other WTO Members that went beyond 
pure market access considerations.  This approach ha d been very constructive, and had highlighted the 
growing significance of the GPA as an aspect of governance as well as a vehicle for advancement of market access concerns. 
11. Delegations congratulated Armenia for completing this important phase of its accession 
process.  They thanked Armenia for its respons iveness throughout its accession process, and looked 
forward to welcoming it shortly – and working with  it – as a full-fledged Party to the Agreement. 
B. 
OTHER BUSINESS  
12. The Chairman  said that, based on his contacts with Parties, it was his understanding that they 
wished him to continue as Chairman of the Co mmittee at least until the summer break, during which 
time Parties would be making a major effort  to conclude the ongoing negotiations. 
13. The Committee agreed  that Mr. Niggli should continue as Chairman at least until the summer 
break. 
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