ANNUAL 2012 SESSION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE ON THE WTO WTO Headquarters, Geneva (Switzerland), 15 and 16 November 2012 |
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Organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament |
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Updated on 6 December 2012 |
SESSION DOCUMENTS |
Outcome document | [English] [French] [English] [French] | |
List of participants | [Bilingual] | |
Opening speech of Senator Donald H. Oliver (Canada), member of the IPU Executive Committee | [English] [French] | |
Opening speech of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Georgios Papastamkos | [English] [French] | |
Opening speech of Ambassador Shahid Bashir (Pakistan), Chairperson of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body | [English] [French] | |
Discussion paper on the substantive theme prepared by Mr. P.C. Chako (India) PC-WTO/2012/2-R.1 (16 October 2012) |
[English] [French] | |
Discussion paper on the substantive theme prepared by Mr. P. Rübig (European Parliament) PC-WTO/2012/2-R.2 (16 October 2012) |
[English] [French] | |
Programme | [English] [French] | |
Annotated provisional agenda | [English] [French] [English] [French] | |
Invitation | [English] [French] | |
Practical information note | [English] [French] | |
Registration form | [Bilingual] [Bilingual] | |
On-line booking of hotel rooms through the Geneva Tourism Office | [English] [French] | |
Advance information letter | [English] [French] | |
Steering Committee of the Conference | [English] [French] | |
Rules of Procedure of the Conference | [English] [French] [English] [French] | |
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Discussion paper co-authored by Mr. Pradeep Singh Mehta, Secretary General of CUTS International, Member of the Panel designated by the WTO Director-General to define the future of trade |
[English] [French] | |
World Trade Organization | ||
Committee on International Trade, European Parliament | ||
WTO Public Forum 2012 "Is Multilateralism in Crisis?" (Geneva, 24-26 September 2012) | ||
Parliamentary Panel within the framework of the WTO Public Forum 2011 (Geneva, 20 September 2011) | ||
Annual 2011 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (Geneva, 21-22 March 2011)) | ||
Parliamentary Panel within the framework of the WTO Public Forum 2010 (Geneva, 16 September 2010) | ||
Enlarged session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (Geneva, 1 December 2009) | ||
Annual 2008 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (Geneva, 11-12 September 2008) | ||
Annual 2006 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (Geneva, 1-2 December 2006) | ||
Hong Kong session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (Hong Kong, 12 and 15 December 2005) | ||
Brussels session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (Brussels, 24-26 November 2004) | ||
Cancún session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (Cancún, 9 and 12 September 2003) | ||
Annual 2003 session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (Geneva, 17 and 18 February 2003) | ||
Note: Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader |
ANNOTATED PROVISIONAL AGENDA | |||
1. | Adoption of the agenda | ||
2. | Debate on substantive theme. | ||
Trade as a tool of economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation | |||
To bear fruit, trade policies must be shaped to reflect broader development objectives and be complemented by appropriate macroeconomic measures. How can legislators contribute to the formulation of integrated and coherent national trade, industrial, labour market and social policies? In times of economic crisis, can trade be a driver for prosperity? | |||
3. | Policy dialogue with members of the high-level panel designated by the WTO Director-General to define the future of trade. | ||
Analysing 21st century trade challenges | |||
In April 2012, the WTO Director-General mandated a panel of 12 world-renowned experts to discuss the state of the multilateral trading system, analyse the drivers of today’s and tomorrow's trade and examine the implications of open global trade in the 21st century. Although the panel’s prognosis will only be available in 2013, some members of the panel have agreed to meet with legislators to test some of their ideas among a parliamentary audience. |
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4. | Hearing with the WTO Director-General | ||
It has become customary for the WTO Director-General to meet with parliamentarians specializing in international trade. During this interactive session, which is not unlike traditional parliamentary hearings, the Director-General will field questions and listen to brief comments from the delegates. | |||
5. | Panel discussion. | ||
Trade in services: Time for political decisions | |||
The services sector is not only important in its own right but can help improve efficiency and competitiveness in other sectors of the economy. Liberalization of trade in services is part and parcel of the Doha mandate, with a potential to yield gains for both developed and developing countries. This interactive panel will focus on the on-going discussion, the difficulties encountered in the negotiations on trade in services and on a possible role of parliaments in the efforts to accelerate the process. |
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6. | Adoption of the outcome document | ||
At the end of the session, the participants will be invited to adopt an outcome document, the draft of which will be prepared by the Conference Steering Committee. |
Updated on 16 November 2012 | |
PROGRAMME | |
THURSDAY, 15 NOVEMBER | |
09:00 - 12:30 | Pre-Conference session of the Steering Committee (in camera meeting, IPU Headquarters) |
10:00 - 18:00 | Registration of participants |
15:00 - 15:30 | Inaugural session |
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15:30 - 16:30 | Presentation of reports and interactive debate on substantive theme |
Trade as a tool of economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation | |
Rapporteurs
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Discussants
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16:30 - 18:00 | Policy dialogue with members of the high-level panel designated by the WTO Director-General to define the future of trade |
Analysing 21st century trade challenges | |
Moderator
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Panelists
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18:00 - 19:30 | Reception at the WTO |
20:00 - 22:00 | Steering Committee (in camera meeting, IPU Headquarters) |
FRIDAY, 16 NOVEMBER | |
10:00 - 11:00 | Hearing with the WTO Director-General |
11:00 - 13:00 | Continuation of interactive debate on substantive theme |
Trade as a tool of economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation | |
13:00 - 15:00 | Lunch break |
15:00 - 16:30 | Panel discussion |
Trade in services: time for political decisions | |
Panelists
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16:30 - 17:30 | Conclusion of interactive debate on substantive theme |
Trade as a tool of economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation | |
17:30 - 18:00 | Closing session: adoption of the outcome document |
Rapporteur
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STEERING COMMITTEE |
Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, China, Egypt, France, India, Japan, Jordan, Namibia, Panama, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, South Africa, Sweden, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, European Parliament, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and World Trade Organization. |
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