. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/GEN/1110 
16 September 2011  
 
(11-4477) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
  
PROGRAMME FOR THE WORKSHOP ON SPS COORDINATION AT  
NATIONAL AND REGIONAL LEVELS 
 
Monday, 17 October 2011 (Council Room) 
 
 
09.00 – 09.15  Opening Remarks - Mr Deny Kurnia, Chair of the SPS Committee  
 
09.15 – 09.30  Session I:  Introduction  
Speakers:  Gretchen Stanton, Javier Ocampo, WTO Secretariat 
 The importance of coordination at the national and regional levels  
 Existing reference materials from  the WTO and other Organizations 
(SPS IMS, Step-by-step Manual, Mentoring system, IICA handbooks) 
 Logistics of the break-out sessions 
 Three Sisters Standard-setting Procedures (background document) 
 09.30 – 10.00 Session II:  Comparison of the Three Sisters' Standard-setting 
Procedures 
 Benefits and weaknesses of the procedures  
 Concerns raised regarding the procedures  
 Changes to the procedures under consideration  
 Speakers:  Codex, IPPC and OIE 
 
   NATIONAL COORDINATION 
 
10.00 – 10.20  Session III:  STDF Scoping Study on National SPS Coordination 
Mechanisms in Africa 
 Speaker:  STDF Secretariat  
 
10.20 – 11.20  Session IV:  Sharing of National Experiences with Coordination 
 
10.20 – 10.40   Increasing Awareness and Advocacy of the SPS Agreement 
Speaker:  Karen Kristine A. Roscom, Chief Science Research Specialist, 
Department of Agriculture, Philippines 
 
10.40 – 11.00  The Path to Establish a National SPS Committee 
  Speaker:  Delilah A. Cabb, Coordinator, SPS Enquiry Point, Belize 
Agricultural Health Authority 
 G/SPS/GEN/1110 
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  11.00 – 11.20 Coordination between the SPS National Committee and the National 
Representatives to the Three Sisters 
  Speaker:  Ruth Montes de Oca S., Director, Office of Agricultural Trade 
Agreements, Ministry of Agriculture, Dominican Republic 
11.30 – 13.00  Session V:  Breakout Sessions (four groups) 
 English 
 English  
 French  
 Spanish  
 Participants will discuss their own e xperiences with ensuring coordination at 
the national level, and propose recommendations for "best practices" in light 
of the topics covered in the morning.  Facilitators will organize the 
discussions based on a list of questions that will be provided to each group.  Rapporteurs will be appointed for each group. 
 Facilitators:  WTO Secretariat  
 
13.00 – 15.00 Lunch break 
 
15.00 – 16.00 Presentation of recommendations from each group by the rapporteurs, 
followed by general discussion 
 
 REGIONAL COORDINATION  
 
16.00 – 16.20  Session VI:  Regional SPS Frameworks and Strategies in Africa 
Speaker:  Joao Magalhães, Consultant  
 
16.20 – 16.30  Session VII:  SPS and Regional Trade Agreements  
Speaker:  Hanna Vittikala, WTO Secretariat  
 
16.30 – 17.45  Session VIII:  Sharing of Regional Experiences in Coordination 
 
16.30 – 16.50  MERCOSUR: Sanitary and Phytosanitary Harmonization 
 Speaker:  Dr Roxana Blassetti, Dire ctor of Cooperation and Bilateral 
Negotiations, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishery, Argentina 
 16.50 – 17.10  COMESA: The Role of the SPS Sub-Committee as a Policy Organ in 
determining Regional Investment Priorities 
 Speaker: Martha Byanyima, CAADP Regional Process Facilitator / SPS 
Expert, Zambia 
 17.10 – 17.45  Plenary discussion  
17.45 – 18.00  Concluding Remarks  
 Speaker:  WTO Secretariat 
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