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The Symposium — Aim and Structure
The aim of the two-day symposium on the state of the
world trading system was to provide as much time as possible for both
general and specific, issues-based discussion. An opening plenary on
the morning of the first day of the symposium was followed by
five separate work sessions, each with a moderator and several
discussants. Specific subjects under each general heading were
addressed by the discussants and ample time was allotted during
each session for comments, questions and debate. The work sessions started in the afternoon of the first day of the symposium and
continued the next morning.
The closing plenary session
was held on the
afternoon of 7 July. At that time, the chairpersons of the five work
sessions made oral summaries in a personal capacity of key
points raised during their respective sessions. Reports providing a
short and factual summary of all interventions made during each work
session will be issued a few days after the symposium.
Special work sessions during the two-day symposium
focused on trade in agriculture, food safety and sanitary and
phytosanitary standards, intellectual property rights (the TRIPS
Agreement), development and environment issues and trade in services
(the GATS). A fifth working session addressed the relationship
between the WTO and civil society.
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