Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 8 • Number 8 • 3rd March 2004
Events
For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar at: http://www.ictsd.org/cal/index.htm. If you would like to submit an event, please email events@ictsd.ch.
Coming Up: 4-10 March
2-5 March 2004, Concepción, Chile: GLOBAL BIOTECHNOLOGY FORUM. Organised by UNIDO and the Chilean Government. This event will bring together representatives from the scientific, public, private and social sectors as well as high-level decision makers to review opportunities and challenges in biotechnology for the developing world. For further information contact: tel: +56 41 204-649; fax: 214-288; e- mail: gbf2004@udec.cl; Internet: http://www.gbf2004.cl
4-5 March, Brussels: GREENS/EUROPEAN FREE ALLIANCE CONFERENCE: REMAKING THE GLOBAL TRADING SYSTEM. The conference, held in the European Parliament, will focus on opportunities to redefine the global trading system with more emphasis on fair trade and sustainable development. It will discuss structural and procedural reforms that may be available within the stalled trade talks of the WTO. Advance registration is necessary for security reasons. For more information, email: GreensTradeConference@europarl.eu.int; Internet: http://www.greens-efa.org
9 -10 March, Pretoria, South Africa: CONFERENCE ON BIOTECHNOLOGY, MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC. Organised by the US Embassy and the Public Understanding of Biotechnology Programme, this conference will comprise a debate on aspects of biotechnology, specifically interfaces between biotechnology and society in South Africa. The event is primarily targeted at journalists and media representatives along with stakeholders in the biotechnology field. For further information contact Rosa Seleke, tel: +27-12-392-9300; email: rosa@pub.ac.za; Internet: http://www.pub.ac.za/events/index.html
9-12 March 2004, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania: UNEP-GEF SUB-REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL BIOSAFETY FRAMEWORKS FOR ANGLOPHONE AFRICA. This workshop aims to help participants acquire a better understanding of the different options for regulatory regimes and administrative systems for biosafety, as well as legal and administrative requirements of the Cartagena Protocol. For further information contact Christopher Briggs, tel: +41-22-917-8411; fax: +41-22-917-8070; email: chris.briggs@unep.ch; Internet: http://www.unep.ch/biosafety/devsubregwrkshops.htm
WTO Events
An updated list of forthcoming WTO meetings is posted at: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/meets.pdf. Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed, and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings of the different bodies. Unless otherwise indicated, all WTO meetings are held at the WTO, Centre William Rappard, rue de Lausanne 154, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, and are open to WTO Members and accredited observers only.
4 March: WTO WORKING PARTY ON THE ACCESSION OF KAZAKHSTAN.
5 March: WTO TRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY - SRI LANKA.
8 March: WTO COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS VALUATION.
8-10 March: WTO COUNCIL FOR TRADE-RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.
9 March: WTO SUB-COMMITTEE ON LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.
10 March: WTO WORKING PARTY ON THE ACCESSION OF SUDAN.
Other Forthcoming Events
1-3 April, Kampala, Uganda: ASSURING FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY IN AFRICA BY 2020. Organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute and the government of Uganda, this all-Africa conference will bring together the traditional and new actors and stakeholders to deliberate on how to bring about change and action to assure food and nutrition security. For more information see http://www.ifpri.org/2020africaconference/index.htm
19-23 April, Trieste, Italy: WORKSHOP ON INTRODUCTION TO BIOSAFETY AND RISK ASSESSMENT FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL RELEASE OF GMOS. This workshop is organised by the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and focuses on providing a theoretical/scientific approach. For more information contact: tel: +39-040 -375-7333; fax: +39-040-226-555; e-mail: courses@icgeb.org; Internet: http://www.icgeb.org/~bsafesrv/bsfn0309.htm#anchor442802
24-25 April, Washington DC, US. 2004 SPRING MEETING OF THE IMF AND THE WORLD BANK GROUP. The International Monetary and Financial Committee Meeting will take place on 24 April, and the Development Committee Meeting will be held on 25 April. For more information contact Annual Meeting inquiries, tel: +1-202-473-7272; fax: +1-202-623-4100; email: bfcoffice@worldbank.org; Internet: http://www.imf.org/external/am/
25-27 May, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO SYMPOSIUM: MULTILATERALISM AT A CROSSROADS. The annual WTO public symposium is intended for participants from governments, parliaments, civil society, the business sector, academia and the media, who are invited to debate the stakes and challenges ahead in the most crucial and final phase of the Doha Round of negotiations. For further information contact Bernie Kuiten, tel: + 41 22 739 56 76; email: symposium2004@wto.org, Internet: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/symp_devagenda_04_e.htm
28-29 May, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico: III SUMMIT OF LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN AND THE EU. The summit seeks to strengthen the LAC-EU partnership. For further information see http://www.alcue.org/alcue/web/home_EN.php
17-19 June, Washington DC, US: SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: TRADE, POVERTY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT. The Seventh Annual Conference is jointly organised by the World Bank and the Center for Global Trade Analysis, with additional support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). The goal of the conference is to promote the exchange of ideas among economists conducting quantitative analysis of global economic issues. Particular emphasis will be placed on applied general equilibrium methods, data, and application. Related theoretical and applied work is also welcome. For further information see http://www.gtap.agecon.purdue.edu/events/Conferences/2004/default.asp