HONG KONG SESSION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE ON THE WTO Hong Kong (China), 12 and 15 December 2005
	Organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament

	The Parliamentary Conference on the WTO is a joint undertaking of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament. Its principal objective is to enhance external transparency of the WTO and make this inter-governmental organization accountable to legislators as elected representatives of the people. The sessions of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO are held once a year and on the occasion of WTO Ministerial Conferences. The 2005 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO took place in conjunction with the sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Hong Kong, China, from 13 to 18 December 2005. The parliamentary session was held in two parts, on 12 and 15 December 2005, and took place at the Harbour Plaza Hong Kong Hotel. Participation in the parliamentary session was guided by the general principles set out in Article 2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO. Preparation of the parliamentary session in Hong Kong was carried out by the Conference Steering Committee which established the session's provisional agenda and work programme when it met in Geneva on 22 and 23 September 2005.

SESSION DOCUMENTS
	Declaration HTML and PDF
	List of Participants (PDF)
	Discussion paper on agenda item 3(a) prepared by Mr. L. A. Heber (Uruguay) (PDF)
	Discussion paper on agenda item 3(a) prepared by Mr. R. Pal (India) (PDF)
	Discussion paper on agenda item 3(a) prepared by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Assocaition (PDF)
	Discussion paper on agenda item 3(b) prepared by Mr. T. Matsuoka (Japan) (PDF)
	Discussion paper on agenda item 3(b) prepared by Mr. H. Markov (European Parliament) (PDF)
	Discussion paper on agenda item 3(b) prepared by Mr. H. Moradi (Islamic Republic of Iran) (PDF)
	Annotated provisional agenda: [ HTML ] and [ PDF ]
	Programme: [ HTML ] and [ PDF ]
	Invitation letter (PDF)
	Additional information about accreditation and transportation arrangements in Hong Kong (PDF)
	Advance information letter (PDF)
	Practical information note (PDF)
	Registration form (revised version) (PDF)
	Hotel reservation form (PDF)
	Rules of Procedure of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (PDF)
	Steering Committee of the Conference
IPU PRESS RELEASES
	"The Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization cannot fail, otherwise we risk chaos" stress parliamentarians in Hong Kong (15 December 2005)
	Parliamentarians to discuss key trade issues during WTO Conference in Hong Kong (2 December 2005)
RELATED SITES AND DOCUMENTS
	World Trade Organization (official web site)
	Harbour Plaza Hong Kong Hotel
	Brussels session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO
	Cancún session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO
	Geneva 2003 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO
	Final Declaration of the Parliamentary Meeting on the occasion of the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference
	Parliamentary Meeting on International Trade "For a free, just and equitable multilateral trading system: Providing a parliamentary dimension"
	European Parliament (official Web site)
Note: Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader

ANNOTATED AGENDA
1.	Adoption of the agenda
2.	Dialogue with Ministers and senior WTO Officials
3.	The contribution of trade to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals
	Debate on substantive themes:
	(a)	Completing the Doha Development Agenda
		Under this agenda item, participants will discuss how best to address the needs of the poor through trade – with special focus on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) - in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Particular attention will be paid to agriculture, non-agricultural market access, commodities, trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS), services, Rules - including trade facilitation and anti-dumping - and institutional capacity building.
	(b)	Coherence between Trade Policy and other Public Policy Challenges
		A consensual multilateral trade policy for a rules-based market system is essential to ensure trade liberalisation but must also be coherent with other public policy challenges in order to realise the objectives of full employment, sustainable development, social cohesion, and optimum use and efficient allocation of resources to achieve a balance of benefits. Participants will be able to address some inter-related issues pertaining to finance, environment and employment.
4.	Interactive panel discussion: good practices of oversight by parliaments in the field of international trade
	The focus of this interactive session will be on how parliaments can best scrutinize their governments' action in the field of international trade and oversee implementation of trade-related legislation, on the resources that are placed at the disposal of parliaments to this end, the manner in which they address trade policy issues (committee structures, procedures, etc.), and on corresponding technical support needs of parliaments.
5.	High-level dialogue on trade and development with representatives of international organizations, civil society, business and the media
6.	Adoption of the Declaration
	At the end of the Hong Kong session, the participants will be called on to adopt a Declaration, the draft of which will be prepared by the Steering Committee.

Updated on 11 December 2005
PROGRAMME
MONDAY, 12 DECEMBER
9.30 - 10 a.m.	Inaugural session
	Speeches - Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, IPU President - Mr. Enrique Barón Crespo, Chairman of the Committee on International Trade, European Parliament - Mr. Pascal Lamy, WTO Director-General - Ms. Wuyun Qimuge, Vice-Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples' Congress of China
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.	Working session
	Adoption of the agenda and other organisational issues
	Debate on substantive themes
	The contribution of trade to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals
Substantive theme (a)	Completing the Doha Development Agenda
	Rapporteurs - Mr. Luis Alberto Heber, MP (Uruguay) - Mr. Rupchand Pal, MP (India) - Ms. Ann McKechin, MP (United Kingdom), Representative of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
12 noon - 1 p.m.	Dialogue with Ministers and senior WTO Officials
	Panellists - Mr. Peter Mandelson, European Commissioner for External Trade - Mr. John C. Tsang, Chairman of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China - Mr. Yi Xiaozhun, Vice Minister of Commerce, China - Ambassador Amina Chawahir Mohamed (Kenya), Chairperson of the WTO General Council
* * *
1 - 2.30 p.m.	Reception hosted by the National People's Congress of China
* * *
2.30 - 6 p.m.	Working session
	Continuation of the debate on substantive theme (a), followed by
Substantive theme (b)	Coherence between Trade Policy and other Public Policy Challenges
	Rapporteurs - Mr. Toshikatsu Matsuoka, MP (Japan) - Mr. Helmuth Markov, Member of the European Parliament - Mr. Hassan Moradi, MP (Islamic Republic of Iran)
4.30 - 6 p.m.	Interactive panel discussion: good practices of oversight by parliaments in the field of international trade
	Moderator - Ms. Erika Mann, Member of the European Parliament
	Panellists - Mr. Bhokin Bhalakula, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand - Senator Jean Bizet (France) - Senator Fernando Margáin Berlanga (Mexico) - Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Yousuf Abdul Razack Mohamed, MP (Mauritius) - Senator Grant Mitchell (Canada)
6 p.m.	Adjournment of the working session
THURSDAY, 15 DECEMBER
9.30 a.m. - 1 p.m.	Steering Committee (in camera meeting)
* * *
2.30 p.m.	Resumption of the plenary working session
	Update on negotiations at the WTO Ministerial Conference
	Continuation of the debate
3.30 - 5 p.m.	High-level dialogue on trade and development with representatives of international organizations, civil society, business and the media
	Panellists - Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General, UNCTAD - Mr. Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director, Oxfam International - Ms. Esperanza Durán, Executive Director, Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation - Mr. Duncan Campbell, Director, Policy Integration Department, ILO
5 - 6 p.m.	Adoption of the Declaration
	Rapporteur: - Mr. Benedict Anthony Martins, MP (South Africa)
6 p.m.	Closure of the session

STEERING COMMITTEE

The Steering Committee of the Conference is currently composed of representatives of the following parliaments and international organizations: Belgium, Canada, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Kenya, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Thailand, Uruguay, United Kingdom, United States of America, Commonwealth Parliamentary Assocition, European Parliament, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, World Trade Organization.