Opening statement by India, on behalf of the Asia & the Pacific Group in the 17th Session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP/17), delivered by Dr. Sumit Seth, First Secretary(Economic)
11 April 2016

Mr. Chair,

India has the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Asia and the Pacific Group. Let me begin by congratulating you and your Vice Chairs for being elected for this important committee which examines the linkages between Intellectual Property & Development. I would like to put on record our group's appreciation to the secretariat for the preparation of this meeting. We hope under your able leadership and guidance this session will make the desired progress on issues of vital importance to the members of Asia and the Pacific Group.

Mr. Chair,

Our group appreciates the successful completion of the International Conference on IP & Development. It allowed us to hear from a diverse array of speakers from different backgrounds. The conference was indeed very beneficial and instructive. We would like to congratulate the WIPO Secretariat for the same.

Mr. Chair,

The focus of South-South cooperation activities in WIPO should be on promoting full use of IP flexibilities so that WIPO can address development goals. There should also be more activities on sharing South-South experiences on the Protection of Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional Cultural Expressions.

As far as the mechanism of updating the Database on Flexibilities is concerned, Asia & the Pacific Group is of the view that Member States communicate updates concerning their national provisions on flexibilities which are consequently added to the WIPO's Database on Flexibilities.

Mr. Chair

CDIP began discussions on how WIPO could contribute to the Sustainable Development Goalsin the last session. This is a welcome step in the right direction. Our group would like to request the WIPO Secretariat to brief the CDIP on the participation of WIPO in SDGs related issues during the period from the last session of CDIP in November 2015 till now, particularly in the Inter-Agency Expert Group on SDGs and in the United Nations Technology Facilitation Mechanism. We would also like to discuss important steps to be taken in the future on how IP must contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development.

Mr. Chair

Asia & the Pacific Group would urge all other regional groups to work in the spirit of multilateralism and building consensus towards resolution of the WIPO GA Decision on CDIP related matters, including the Coordination Mechanism, which is an essential element in the implementation of Developmental Agenda recommendations, particularly in respect to the Program and Budget Committee (PBC) and the Committee on WIPO Standards (CWS). We hope to see this matter get resolved and pave the way for smooth functioning of other WIPO committees.

Mr. Chair

Technical Assistance is an important area for members of the Asia Pacific Group. To be effective, the delivery of technical assistance needs to be timely, efficient and coherent. We need to devise an institutional mechanism to avoid duplication so that there is optimal channelization of resources. 

My group is hopeful that discussion on the External Review of WIPO Technical Assistance in the area of Cooperation for Development would bring uniformity, better organization, and clarity to existing processes and practices. The discussions under this agenda item should continue on the basis of the proposal by Development Agenda Group and African Group as these are the only formal proposals in front of the Committee. 

Mr. Chair,

We need to evaluate the gains achieved through projects which have been completed under the Development Agenda and more importantly to identify areas where complementary and supplementary work needs to continue on the recommendations addressed. The group would like to reiterate that the Secretariat should present a compilation of this data and also propose potential new activities for consideration of member states.

Mr. Chair,

The Group members would make interventions during the discussions on specific agenda items. We look forward to contributing to the proceedings in the Committee and hope for a productive session.

With these words, I thank you once again Senor Presidente por esta oportunitdad