WTO Twentieth anniversary accession programme
28-30 September 2015

11:00 - 11:15

WTO Accession Experiences:
How We Began — Commentary by Arif Hussain

Speakers

Mr. Arif Hussain
First Director of the Accessions Division

Statement

WTO Accessions: A Rules and Market Access Perspective to Growth:
The Approach of the European Union

Speakers

Ms. Ruta Zarnauskaite
Policy Officer & Trade Negotiator DG Trade European Commission

Statement

WTO Accessions from a Members' Perspective: Safeguarding the Rules-based System

Speakers

H.E Hamish McCormick
Ambassador of Australia to the WTO Cairns Group Coordinator

WTO Accession Negotiations: Commentary by China

Speakers

H.E. Mr. Yu Jianhua
Ambassador of China to the WTO

WTO Accession Negotiations: Commentary by the Russian Federation

Speakers

Mr. Maxim Medvedkov
Head, Department for Trade Negotiations Ministry of Economic Development Russian Federation

Statement

WTO Accession Negotiations: Commentary by Brazil

Speakers

H.E. Mr. Marcos Galvão
Ambassador of Brazil to the WTO

Dialogue

14:30 – 14:50

WTO Accession of Lao PDR

Speakers

H.E. Ms. Khemmani Pholsena
Minister of Industry & Commerce Lao PDR

Statement

WTO Accession of Ukraine

Speakers

Ms. Svitlana Zaitseva
Ministry of Economic Development & Trade Ukraine

Statement

WTO Accession of the Russian Federation

Speakers

Mr. Maxim Medvedkov
Head Department for Trade Negotiations Ministry of Economic Development Russian Federation

WTO Accession of China

Speakers

Mr. Xiankun Lu
Professor Institute for WTO Studies, University of International
Business and Economics, China

WTO Accession Negotiations: A U.S. Perspective

Speakers

Mr. Mark Linscott
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO and Multilateral Affairs

Dialogue

Group Photograph
(Lake Terrace or Staircase at Main Entrance)

09:20 – 09:40

Facilitating WTO Accessions: The Role of the Working Party Chairperson

Speakers

H.E. Mr. Clyde Kull
Deputy Permanent Representative of Estonia to the EU

Are there Different Rules for LDCs in a Rules-Based System?

Speakers

Mr. Steffen Smidt
LDCs' Facilitator Denmark

Statement

Managing the Challenge of Acceding Post-Conflict States

Speakers

Mr. Joakim Reiter
Deputy Secretary-General UNCTAD

Dialogue

Moderator: H.E. Mr. Roderick van Schreven (Netherlands)
Brief opening remarks by moderator

11:00 – 11:10

Saudi Arabia – WTO Accession Negotiations and 10 Years of WTO Membership in Perspective

Speakers

H.E. Mr. Tawfig Fawzan
Alrabiah Minister of Commerce and Industry Saudi Arabia

Statement

Saudi Standardization Journey towards Globalization

Speakers

H.E. Dr. Saad AlKasabi
Governor of Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization Saudi Arabia

Statement

The Role of Saudi Arabia in the WTO

Speakers

H.E. Dr. Abdullah Al Obaid
Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry for Foreign Trade Saudi Arabia

Statement

WTO Accession of Saudi Arabia: Institutional Significance and Contributions

Speakers

Mr. Chiedu Osakwe
Director Accessions Division

Post-accession: Saudi Arabia's Trade Policy Review

Mr. Willy Alfaro
Director TPR Division

Statement

“Land of Opportunities” Industrial Clusters

Eng. AbdulMajeed
Al-Maymoon VP, Industrial Clusters Enabling Specialist

Statement

Launch of Lowndes Publication
Foreword by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo

Mr. Rupert Prior
Lowndes Group

Dialogue

Cocktail Reception organized by the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the WTO (WTO Gallery)

14:30 – 14:45

Contributions and Lessons from WTO Accessions: the Present and Future of the Rules-Based Multilateral Trading System

Speakers

Mr. Chiedu Osakwe Director Accessions Division

14:45 – 15:00

WTO Rule-Making: WTO Accession Protocols and Jurisprudence

Speakers

Ms. Valerie Hughes Director Legal Affairs Division

15:00 – 15:15

Government-Business Partnership in the context of WTO accession negotiations – Commentary by the Executive Director of the International Trade Centre

Speakers

Ms. Arancha González
Executive Director International Trade Centre

15:15 – 15:30

Macro WTO and Micro GPA Accessions: What is the Relationship?

Speakers

Mr. Robert Anderson
Counsellor Intellectual Property Division

Statement

15:30 – 15:45

Intellectual Property Rights Obligations and Development – an LDC Perspective

Speakers

Ms. Joan Apecu
Head, TNC Section Council and TNC Division

Ms. Alexandra Bhattacharya
Associate Program Support Officer for LDCs, WIPO

Statement

15:45 – 16:00

The Structural Reform Implications of WTO accessions

Speakers

Ms. Claire Hollweg
Consultant Trade Practice World Bank

16:00 – 16:15

Twenty years of WTO Accession Negotiations – Academic Commentary by Professor Charnovitz

Speakers

Mr. Steve Charnovitz
Professor George Washington University

Statement

16:15 – 16:30

WTO Accessions: What does the Academic Literature say?

Speakers

Mr. Alexei Kireyev
Senior Economist International Monetary Fund

Statement
Statement

Dialogue