Opening Statement by India on behalf of the Asia and the Pacific Group at 25th sessionof WIPO’s Program & Budget Committee, delivered by Dr. Sumit Seth, First Secretary (Economic) on
29 August 2016

Mr Chair,

1.    India has the honour to deliver this opening statement on behalf of the Asia & the Pacific Group.

2.    At the outset, the group would like to congratulate you on being elected by consensus for this important committee of WIPO. Our group has confidence in your experience & your able leadership which will guide us all towards reaching constructive conclusions in this session.

3.    I would also to thank the Secretariat for the preparation of this meeting and for providing us with relevant documents.

4.    After, examining the various documents presented in this PBC, our group is hopeful that the material before the committee will encourage the Member States to take stock of the current situation and provide an opportunity to put forward ideas and recommendations which will help towards further optimization of the functioning of WIPO.

Mr Chair,

5.    The issue of Governance at WIPO is an important issue for our group. We believe that finding solutions to this impasse requires mutual trust among the Member States. Therefore, members of the Asia and the Pacific group will work towards contributing positively on this agenda item so that a consensus can be reached.

6. Guiding principles for external offices were approved after lengthy negotiations reflecting the diversity of views on the subject.  A decision on the location of these offices in light of the approved principles entails priority being given to Africa in line with the principle of parity and inclusivity and objective consideration of all other proposals including that of India, Iran and Republic of Korea from the Asia & Pacific Group .

7.    The group takes note of the report submitted by WIPO’s Independent Advisory Oversight Committee & acknowledges the important role it plays in assisting Member States in exercising their governance responsibilities concerning the various operations of WIPO and thereby helping member states in their role of oversight.

8.    We acknowledge the substantive observations and specific recommendations made by the external auditor for the financial year 2015 regarding the delivery of various programs and activities by the WIPO management. We would like to thank the External Auditors for the continuous meticulous work done in making these useful suggestions and urge the WIPO Secretariat to look seriously into the various recommendations inter alia those on the Arbitration and Mediation Centre and relating to staff travel and rules. We look forward to participating in the further discussion on this agenda item during the session.   

9.      Regarding the geographical distribution of WIPO staff, we are of the firm belief that there exists significant gap in the equitable geographical representation of Asia/Pacific Region in the WIPO Secretariat. Therefore, it is of high importance to take all necessary steps to enable inparticular those member states from the region that are underrepresented. Therefore, our group position is that there is aneed to gradually increase representation from the countries of this regionin line with the principle of equitablegeographical distribution especially from under represented countries withinthe region itself.

Mr Chair,

10.    Our group gives high importance to the review of the proposed Mid-Term Strategic Plan for 2016 – 2021, as it will serve as the overall strategic direction for the preparation of the three consecutive Programs and Budgets. Our group would like to request that the Secretariat to compare the changes proposed to the MTSP 2010 – 2015 with the new proposed MTSP 2016 – 2021 so that the lessons learnt in the previous MTSP can be transferred to the next plan.

Mr Chair,

11.     The members of the Asia & the Pacific group will make their country specific comments under each agenda item.

With these words I thank you Mr. Chair.