Version: 16 May 2012
"BEIJING 2012 ROUND TABLE ON WTO ACCESSION BEST PRACTICES"
FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDCS)1
29 May - 1 June 2012, Beijing, China
Annotated Programme2©
"Although accompanied with significant benefits, the WTO accession process is complex. There is no easy way
to simplify a process intertwined with far-reaching domestic economic and legislative reforms. However, since
1995 to date, the Secretariat has gathered considerable intelligence on what works, what does not and a rough
and ready 'To do List'."
- WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy
Director-General's Annual Report on Accessions 2011
"It was a courageous and difficult decision that China made to join the World Trade Organization, which today
has proven a correct and worthy one. Looking back upon the 10 years, not only has China shared the fruits of
prosperity with the world, but together we have achieved a win-win situation."
- Chen Deming, Minister of Commerce of China
In July 2011, the Government of the People's Republic of China signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the World Trade Organization (WTO). The MOU established the "China's LDCs
and Accessions Programme ("The China Programme"). It created a fund for an internship programme to build
capacity and technical skills in trade policy, including on accession negotiations, for Least-Developed Countries
and eligible developing countries. "The Beijing 2012 Round Table on WTO Accession Best Practices" for
LDCs is hosted by the Government of China and organized by the WTO Secretariat, as part of the agreed
activities in the China/WTO MOU.
28 May 2012
08:30
Registration at the lobby of Beijing Hotel (NO. 33 East Changan Avenue, Beijing, China)
Day One - 29 May 2012
09:00
09:30
Opening Ceremony
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Welcoming remarks by Mr. Chen Deming, Minister of Commerce, China (TBC)
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Remarks by H.E. Mr. Wilson Laleau, Minister of Trade and Industry, Haiti; LDC Coordinator
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Opening of Round Table and launch of the Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)
by Mr. Pascal Lamy, WTO Director-General (TBC)
Group Photograph for Beijing Round Table Participants
Coffee Break
1
The Beijing 2012 Round Table on WTO Accession Best Practices for LDCs is sponsored and hosted by the
Government of China and organized by the WTO Secretariat.
2
Final Programme, presentations and Guidelines for Participants are posted on the Beijing 2012 Round Table
webpage: http://www.wto.org/beijingroundtable.
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Version: 16 May 2012
10:00
Session 1: LDC Accessions - State-of-Play, Best Practices and Challenges
Since 1995, four least-developed countries (LDCs), Cambodia (2004), Nepal (2004), Cape Verde (2008),
and Samoa (2012), have acceded to the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement.
Vanuatu completed its accession process in 2011. Domestic ratification is pending. Another 10 LDCs3
are in the process of accession. Among them, the accessions of Lao PDR and Yemen have reached their
final "end-game" stage and are poised for conclusion in 2012. The remaining LDC accessions are at
various stages of maturity. In this Session, the WTO Secretariat will provide a state-of-play of ongoing
LDC accessions and discuss the accumulating set of evolving "Best Practices in the Accession Process".
The representatives of LDCs and all participants will identify challenges at different stages of the
accession process accompanied with an exchange of views on how these have been successfully addressed
in the past.
Moderator:
H.E. Fonotoe Nuafesili Pierre Lauofo, Deputy Prime Minister, Samoa
Lead Speakers:
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Presentation on the state-of-play and best practices
Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of Accessions Division, WTO Secretariat (20 min)
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Challenges of LDCs on Accessions
H.E Mr. Dr Nam Viyaketh, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Lao PDR (10 min)
H.E Mr. Mekonnen Manyazewal Meka, Minister of Industry, Ethiopia (10 min )
H.E Mr. Saadaldeen Ali Salim Talib, Minister of Industry and Trade, Yemen (10 min)
Open Discussion: All participants
11:15
Session 2: How to Drive and Conclude an Accession Process - Perspectives of Former Chief
Negotiators
Shared experience is a valuable asset. The former Chief Negotiators of China, Cambodia, Montenegro,
Oman, the Russian Federation, Samoa and Ukraine will share their experiences on how to manage a WTO
accession process and drive it to a successful conclusion. Although the challenges faced by these Chief
Negotiators were varied, they nevertheless offer useful lessons to the 10 LDCs in their ongoing processes.
Their knowledge and experience should assist LDC Chief Negotiators to tackle challenges that they may
face in their accession processes. There are efficiency gains form shared experiences, if learned and
applied. This session will explore, among others:

coordination strategies with domestic stakeholders;

explaining adjustment costs in relation to the benefits of WTO accession;

managing bilateral negotiations with Members;

maximizing the value of the Director-General and Working Party Chairpersons; and

designing and organizing the "end game" process.
Moderator:
Ms Patricia Francis, Executive Director of the ITC
Lead speakers:
H.E. Fonotoe Nuafesili Pierre Lauofo, Deputy Prime Minister, Samoa (15 min)
Mr. Long Yongtu, Former Chief Negotiator, China (15 min)
Mr. Maxim Medvedkov, Chief Negotiator, The Russian Federation (15 min)
Mr. Goran Scepanovic, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economy, Montenegro (15 min)
H.E Mr. Sorasak Pan, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia (15 min)
Commentator: Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of Accessions Division, WTO Secretariat
Open Discussion: All participants
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Afghanistan, Bhutan, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Lao PDR, Liberia, Sao Tomé & Principe, Sudan,
and Yemen
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13:00
Lunch
14:00
Session 3: Best Practices – Domestic Preparation and Coordination
Domestic economic and institutional reforms, codified in the legislation, are at the heart of each WTO
accession process. To achieve balanced terms of accession, consistent with individual trade, financial and
development needs, acceding governments should devise negotiating strategies on the basis of detailed
analyses of the potential impact of the WTO accession. Potential benefits, as well as defensive interests,
should be identified at an early stage so as to crystalize negotiating objectives and secure long-term
political and legislative commitment to WTO Membership.
Accession negotiations require the establishment of structures responsible for their management and
progress. A carefully formulated institutional hierarchy should be established at the beginning to support
the entire accession negotiations. The structure should have adequate authority to coordinate various
governmental agencies involved in the process and to communicate effectively with the legislature, as well
as economic actors, the academia, and civil society. Aspects to be explored include:

preparing impact assessments - potential impact and benefit;

creating a coordinating institutional structure for decision making on WTO accession;

appointment a Chief Negotiator and composition of a negotiating team;

co-operation with Parliament, business sectors and the general public for "ownership"; and

coordination and collaboration among government agencies.
Background Reading: Section V of the Director-General's 2011 Annual Report on Accessions
Moderator:
H.E Mr. Wilson Laleau, Minister of Trade and Industry, Haiti
Lead speakers:
H.E Mr. Azanaw Tadesse Abreha, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Ethiopia (20 min)
Mr. Laohoua Cheuching, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Lao PDR (20
min)
Ms Danijela Gacevic, Advisor, Ministry of Economy, Montenegro (20 min)
Commentator: Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of Accessions Division, WTO Secretariat
Open Discussion: All participants
15:30
Coffee Break
15:45
Session 3 (Continued)
17:00
End of Day One
18:00
Official Dinner
Hosted by Ministry of Commerce of China
Attendance: All participants
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Version: 16 May 2012
Day Two - 30 May 2012
09:00
Session 4: Best Practices – the Negotiating Process
The negotiating process is one of the most complex and challenging aspects of WTO accessions which
defines its uniqueness. Bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral negotiations involve various Members and
groupings across the range of the accession process. To deal with challenging WTO accession
negotiations, improved understanding is needed with regard to procedures, strategies, techniques, and
"best practices" of the negotiating process. The discussion will revolve around:
 Working Party Chairperson;
 Bilateral Negotiating Track:
o
initial/revised market access offers;
o
strategy and management;
o
"good offices"/facilitation of Working Party Chairpersons and the Director-General;
o
Secretariat consolidation of concluded Bilateral Market Access Agreements;
 Multilateral Negotiating Track:
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managing multilateral discussions/dialogues on trade regime;
o
meetings of Working Party;
o
documentation: Q&R, commitment paragraphs, legislative action plans;
 regular contact with the WTO Secretariat; and
 observership of other Accession Working Parties.
Background Reading: Section V of the Director-General's 2011 Annual Report on Accessions
Moderator:
H.E. Ambassador Xiaozhun Yi, Permanent Representative of China to the WTO / Working Party
Chairperson for Lao PDR
Lead speakers:
H.E Mr. Sorasak Pan, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia (20 min)
Mrs Nella Levy, Principal Foreign Service Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Samoa (20
min)
Mr. Hamoud Al-Najar, Chief of Communication and Coordination Office with WTO, Ministry of
Industry and Trade, Yemen (20 min)
Commentator: Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of Accessions Division, WTO Secretariat
Open Discussion: All participants
10:30
Coffee Break
10:45
Session 4 (Continued)
13:00
Lunch
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14:00
Session 5: Best Practices – Technical Assistance, Partnership, Outreach and Policy Advice
Capacity-building provides the foundation of knowledge for the accession process. Knowledge of the
rules-based multilateral trading system and the application of WTO principles and agreements to the
national legal framework are prior conditions for WTO membership. Various technical assistance
programmes are available from the WTO, ITC, UNCTAD, World Bank, IMF and other international
organizations, as well as individual Members4. Better coordination is required; more timely delivery and
stronger partnership are of urgent necessities. This session will discuss both the demand and supply sides
of technical assistance to explore a strategy for addressing the real demand of LDCs in achieving their
accession goals. The session will also explore strategies for intensifying outreach efforts with both
domestic stakeholders and external partners so as to ensure a smoother and faster accession process.
Issues to be discussed could include:
 technical assistance and capacity-building programmes by agencies;
 technical assistance by individual Members;
 "Geneva Week" platform;
 WTO Reference Centre;
 external and domestic outreach in supporting acceding LDCs;
 visits of Chairpersons to acceding LDCs; and
 the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF).
Background Reading: Section V of the Director-General's 2011 Annual Report on Accessions
Moderator:
Mr. Atsuyuki Oike, Deputy Permanent Reprehensive of Japan to the WTO / Former Chairperson of the
Working Party for Samoa
Lead speakers:
Partnerships: Ms. Patricia Francis, Executive Director of the ITC (15 min)
Partnerships: Ms. Dorothy Tembo, Executive Director of the EIF (15 min)
Technical Assistance: Ms. Maika Oshikawa, Counsellor, ITTC, WTO Secretariat (15 min)
Policy Advice: Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of Accessions Division, WTO Secretariat (15 min)
Accessions Databases: Mr. Dayong Yu, Counsellor, Accessions Division, WTO Secretariat (15 min)
Comments by participants:
H.E Mr. Mozammil Shinwari, Director Minister, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Afghanistan
(10 min)
Mr. Abdou Nassur Madi, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance, Budget, Economy and Foreign Trade,
Comoros (10 min)
H.E Mr. Abdelrahim Ahmed Khalil Eltayeb, Acting Secretary General, Ministry of International Cooperation, Sudan (10 min)
Ms Aletha Browne, Assistant Minister of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Liberia
(TBC) (10 min)
Open Discussion: All participants
15:30
Coffee Break
15:45
Session 5 (Continued)
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So far, several Members have provided strong platforms for technical assistance and capacity building
on accessions. These have included, Australia, China, the European Union (and several of its member states),
New Zealand, Oman, the United States.
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16:30
Session 6: Briefing on WT/L/846 (Ministerial Decision on LDCs' Accessions)
Ministers at MC8 reaffirmed the 2002 Guidelines and mandated the Sub-Committee on LDCs to formulate
recommendations to "further strengthen, streamline and operationalize" the 2002 General Council
Decision on Accession of LDCs (WT/L/508). Ambassador Smidt, the Chairperson of the Sub Committee
for LDCs will brief participants on the state-of-play of the ongoing process and the emerging results so far
in preparation for the report to the General Council in July. The Chairperson for Lao PDR and the former
Chairperson for Samoa will share their experiences in facilitating the Accessions of Lao PDR and Samoa,
in particular on the operationalization of the 2002 LDC Guidelines.
Briefing by:
H.E. Ambassador Steffen Smidt, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the WTO / Chairman of the
Sub-Committee on LDCs / Working Party Chairperson for Ethiopia (20 min)
Lead speakers:
H.E. Ambassador Xiaozhun Yi, Permanent Representative of China to the WTO / Chairperson of the
Working Party for Lao PDR (10 min)
Mr. Atsuyuki Oike, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the WTO / Former Chairperson of
the Working Party for Samoa (10 min)
Commentator: Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of Accessions Division, WTO Secretariat
Open Discussion: All participants
17:00
End of Day Two
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Version: 16 May 2012
Day Three - 31 May 2012
09:00
Session 7: Explaining the Benefits / Impact of WTO Accession / Lessons Learned/Post-Accession
Support - Exchange of Views
This Session will involve an exchange of views on the rationale and benefits of WTO accession, including
its impacts, lessons learned and the support needed in the immediate post-accession stage. The discussion
will revolve around:
 Rationale and logic of WTO accession;
 Securing domestic ownership in addressing adjustment questions;
 Government/industry coordination; and
 Implementation/benefits relationship.
Co-moderators:
H.E. Ambassador Steffen Smidt, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the WTO / Chairman of the
Sub-Committee on LDCs / Working Party Chairperson for Ethiopia;
Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of Accessions Division, WTO Secretariat
Lead speakers:
Benefits of WTO accession – H.E. Valeriy Pyatnystkiy, Commissioner for European Integration,
Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Ukraine (15 min)
Impact of WTO accession – Mr. Xiankun Lu, Counsellor Permanent Mission of China to the WTO;
Head of Unit (15 min)
Benefits of WTO accession – Miss Hilda AL-HINAI, Deputy Permanent Representative of Oman to the
WTO; Working Party Chairperson for Seychelles (15 min)
Lessons learned – Mr. Jib Raj Koiara, Under Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, Nepal
(15 min)
Post-accession support – H.E Mr. Roy Mickey Joy, Ambassador, Embassy of Vanuatu to the European
Union (15 min)
Open Discussion: All participants
10:30
Coffee Break
10:45
Session 7 (Continued)
13:00
Lunch
14:00
Closing Session:
15:30
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Remarks by Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of Accessions Division, WTO Secretariat
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Remarks by S.E.M. Wilson Laleau Minister of Trade and Industry, Haiti; LDC Coordinator
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Closing of Round Table by [Deputy] Minister of Commerce, China
Press Conference (one hour)
China, LDC Coordinator and WTO Representative
Day Four - 1 June 2012
9:00
Official visit to the Beijing Economic-technological Development Area
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INVITED PARTICIPANTS
Chief Negotiators of LDC Acceding Governments:
Afghanistan, Comoros, Ethiopia, Lao PDR, Liberia, Sudan and Yemen.
Representatives of Article XII LDC Members:
Cambodia, Nepal, Samoa and Vanuatu.
Representatives of Article XII Non-LDC Members:
China, Montenegro, Oman and the Russian Federation.
Coordinator of the LDCs' Consultative Group:
Haiti.
Chairpersons of LDC Accession Working Parties:
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H.E. Ambassador Steffen Smidt (Denmark), Chairman of the Sub-committee of LDCs and Working Party
Chairperson for Ethiopia;
H.E. Ambassador Xiaozhun Yi (China), Working Party Chairperson for Lao PDR; and
Mr. Atsuyuki Oike (Japan), Former Working Party Chairperson for Samoa.
Representatives of EIF/ITC/WTO:
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Mr. Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO;
Ms. Patricia Francis, Executive Director of the ITC;
Ms. Dorothy Tembo, Executive Director of the EIF;
Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of the Accessions Division;
Mr. Xiaodong Wang, Counsellor, Office of the Director-General;
Ms. Maika Oshikawa, Head of the Asia / Pacific Desk at ITTC; and
Mr. Dayong Yu, Counsellor, Accessions Division.
WORKSHOP MATERIALS








A Handbook on Accession to the WTO;
The Director-General's Annual Report on Accessions, 2009-2011 (WT/ACC/13, 14 and 15);
WTO Accession Commitments Database (pilot launched by the Director-General);
The 2002 Guidelines on LDCs' accessions (WT/L/508);
The Ministerial Decision on LDCs' Accessions (WT/L/846);
Procedures for Negotiations under Article XII - Note by the Secretariat (WT/ACC/1);
Technical Note on the Accession Process - Note by the Secretariat (WT/ACC/10/Rev.4); and
Technical Note on the Accession Process - Information on Current Accessions (WT/ACC/11/Rev.10).
WORKSHOP FOCAL POINTS
WTO Secretariat:
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Mr. Dayong Yu (Tel: +41 22 739 6572 / Fax: +41 22 739 5690 / e-mail: [email protected])
Ms Anne Vittori (Tel: +41 22 739 5119 / Fax: +41 22 739 5724 / e-mail: [email protected])
Ms. Huanhuan Lin (Tel: +41 22 739 5398 / Fax: +41 22 739 5690 / e-mail: [email protected])
Ms. Nadia Ferdi Demierre (Tel: +41 22 739 6560 / Fax: +41 22 739 5690 / e-mail: [email protected])
People's Republic of China:
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Mr. Xiankun Lu (Tel: +41 22 909 7690 / Fax: +41 22 909 7699 / e-mail: [email protected])
Mr. Wen Cao (Tel: +41 22 909 7668 / Fax: +41 22 909 7699 / e-mail: [email protected])
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