Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 11 • Number 9 • 14th March 2007
Events
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.
Upcoming : 15-20 March 2007
15-16 March, Geneva, Switzerland. UNCTAD EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON THE DEVELOPMENT IMPLICATIONS OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS (RTAs) AND THEIR INTERFACE WITH THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM. Organised by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Expert Meeting will aim to identify practical lessons for policy options in regional and multilateral integration processes. Participants will address recent trends in RTAs and their developmental and systemic implications; specific market access issues in regional trade negotiations in goods and services; regulatory provisions, including intellectual property rights, investment and competition policies; South-South trade integration and cooperation; and the manner in which RTAs and the multilateral system interact with each other and possible synergies and complementarities between the two processes. For more information, contact Mina Mashayekhi (Mina.Mashayekhi@unctad.org) or Taisuke Ito (Taisuke.Ito@unctad.org); internet: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/meeting.asp?intItemID=2068&lang=1&m=13242
15-16 March, Nairobi, Kenya. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LINKAGES BETWEEN TRADE, DEVELOPMENT, AND POVERTY REDUCTION. The Consumer Unity and Trust Society International (CUTS) has organised this conference to bring together project partners from 15 countries across South-East Asia, Southern Africa, and Europe with representatives from inter-governmental agencies, civil society, and research organizations to discuss the involvement of civil society in implementing aid for trade programmes. internet: http://www.cuts-citee.org/events.htm
17 March, Lahore, Pakistan: NATIONAL MEETING AND EXPERTS’ ROUNDTABLE ON TRADE IN SERVICES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Organised by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, in collaboration with the Lahore University of Management Sciences. The National Meeting will provide a forum where the findings of a Pakistan case study commissioned by ICTSD will be presented. The country study, which focuses on Pakistan’s construction and related engineering services, architecture services, engineering and integrated engineering services, energy services, and environmental services seeks to analyse the relevance of the services sector in advancing the sustainable development goals of Pakistan, the opportunities and risks appurtenant to liberalising trade in selected services sectors or modes of supply and possible options regarding the corollary regulatory reform and other flanking measures that may be needed to achieve these goals, will be presented. Following on from the National Meeting there will be an Experts’ Roundtable which will focus on construction and related engineering services. The main elements raised during the discussion will be compiled into a roadmap for implementation. This roadmap will constitute a practical tool for policy makers to take the next step and translate the domestic interests identified in each priority sector into specific domestic reform proposals. For more information e-mail: hullrich@ictsd.ch; tel: +41 (0)22 917 88 46; fax: +41 (0)22 917 80 93. internet: http://www.ictsd.org/issarea/services/roundtable/2007-03-17/2007-03-17_desc.htm
18-19 March, Beijing, China. CHINA DEVELOPMENT FORUM 2007. Organised by the China Development Research Foundation, under the banner of "Towards New Models of Economic Growth," this forum will bring academics and senior personnel from business and international organizations together with Chinese government officials, executives, researchers and economists to discuss a variety of topics including environment, income distribution, technology, and growth dynamics. internet: http://www.cdrf.org.cn/2007cdf/index.htm
19-23 March, Geneva, Switzerland. UN CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD) COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES, AND COMMODITIES, 11th SESSION. The key issues to be addressed at this high-level session include possibilities for networking among regional trade agreements of developing countries in order to share experience and insights; commodity sector development as an essential element of poverty reduction; a review of UNCTAD’s work in regard to non-tariff barriers and market access; and the development implications of trade in services. internet: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/meeting.asp?intItemID=1942&lang=1&m=12761
WTO
An updated list of forthcoming WTO meetings is posted at: http://www.wto.org/meets_public/meets_e.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.
15-16 March: COTTON HIGH-LEVEL SESSION
19 March: COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT - SPECIAL SESSION
19 March: COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS
20 March: DISPUTE SETTLEMENT BODY
Other Upcoming
26-29 March, Geneva, Switzerland. SOUTH CENTRE WORKSHOP ON TRADE IN SERVICES. Organized by South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries, the theme of this year’s workshop is "Linking Multilateral and regional processes of negotiations on trade in services: What is at stake for least-developed countries?" Some of the issues to be discussed include the development challenges of LDCs arising from WTO and EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations, development strategies, and the strategic role of services. internet: http://www.southcentre.org//2007Mar_ServicesWorkshop.htm
28-30 March, Oslo, Norway. THE OSLO CONFERENCE ON GOOD GOVERNANCE, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. The Oslo Conference aims to take the ongoing debate about business and sustainability beyond corporate social responsibility by providing a platform for an integrated approach comprised of key players from government, business, academia, trade-unions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The conference is hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment and the City of Oslo. internet: http://www.csr-oslo.org/
30 April to 11 May, New York, United States: UN COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. The fifteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-15) will focus on the areas of energy for sustainable development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere, and climate change. For further information contact the Division for Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs; tel: +1 212 963 8102; fax: +1 212 963 4260; e-mail: dsd@un.org; internet: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/policy.htm