DAILY BULLETIN
21 MARCH 2024 24/6
Government Procurement – formal meeting and
informal sessions:
20 march 2024
Beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday,
20 March, the Parties and observers to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA 2012) held a formal
meeting in hybrid mode.
1 formal meeting of
the committee on government procurement
In the course of the formal meeting, the Committee:
1._
Took note of the proposed work plan of the candidate for chair (Mr
Martin Zbinden, Switzerland) and appointed him as Chair for the period until
the first meeting of the Committee in 2025.
2 informal sessions
Immediately after the above-noted
formal meeting, a series of informal plurilateral sessions were held.
The sessions dealt with:
1._ Matters related to the administration, implementation and operation of
the Agreement:
a._ Japan, Ukraine, Australia,
Singapore, Moldova and the United States updated the Committee on their recent
notifications under the agenda item on notifications required under the GPA
2012.
b._ The Committee took note of
statements by Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland,
Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and the United States on regulatory
developments in the United States.
c._ The Committee received an update
from the delegations organizing the Committee's second information-sharing
workshop on how digital advances can support trade and competition in
government procurement.
d._ As the Committee required more time
before being able to adopt the draft decision concerning
GPA documents to be circulated in the future, it was agreed that the Committee
would work towards adopting the draft decision at its upcoming June 2024
meetings. The Committee also took note of the update provided by the
Secretariat on the implementation of the Committee's decision adopted in
November 2023 on the derestriction of historical GPA-related documents (_GPA/CD/5).
e._ The Committee was given a live
demonstration of ongoing work by the Secretariat on the updated e-GPA Gateway.
2._ Accessions to the GPA 2012:
a._ Albania: Albania updated the Committee on how it is
progressing with its written replies to the questions and comments received from
Parties regarding Albania's replies to the Checklist of Issues. Albania is also preparing its
initial market access offer and will submit it as soon as possible.
b._ China: China updated the Committee on its recent work
on accession to the GPA 2012, such as improvements to the government
procurement rules, optimization of the domestic business environment and a comprehensive
pilot scheme in Shanghai for conducting government procurement procedures in
accordance with government procurement rules of the GPA 2012 and the CPTPP.
c._
Costa Rica: Costa Rica explained its recently submitted initial market access
offer and expressed its willingness to respond to Parties' questions and
comments concerning the offer as well as its recently circulated replies to the
Checklist of Issues.
d._ Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and
Tajikistan: The
Kyrgyz Republic updated the Committee on its recent circulation of further
revised replies to the Checklist of Issues and the amended Law on Government
Procurement. Parties expressed their wish to see continued efforts and
engagement by the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan with the aim of moving forward
and successfully concluding their accession negotiations. No delegation from
Tajikistan was present.
3._
The Committee's agreed Work
Programmes: The coordinators of the respective
small groups reported to the Committee on progress in the Work Programmes on
sustainable public procurement; the Work Programme on SMEs; and the collection
and reporting of statistical data.
4._
The Chair reminded delegations
that Wednesday, 12 June 2024, has been reserved for the second substantive
meeting of 2024. The Chair also suggested to hold discussions on the e-Agenda
at the Committee's June meetings and possibly reach an understanding that the
Committee will use the e-Agenda on a regular basis going forward.
END