Movement of natural persons (mode 4) under the GATS

Joint WTO-World Bank Symposium, Geneva, 11-12 April 2002

In 2001, the Council for Trade in Services tasked the Secretariat with organizing a Symposium on “Movement of natural persons (mode 4) under the GATS” and agreed that the event would be planned and sponsored jointly with the World Bank. The symposium was intended to provide a platform for information exchange and discussion on different aspects of mode 4 trade. It brought together government officials, representatives of international organizations, academic researchers and private sector experts. Presentations addressed GATS provisions and commitments in relation to mode 4, the economic implications of further liberalization of the movement of natural persons and the challenges and opportunities it presents. Current regimes for the temporary entry of services providers in selected countries were also outlined. The protagonists of mode 4 trade, in home and host countries, and government officials responsible for regulating the temporary entry of persons presented their views. A panel discussion with trade negotiators closed the event. The Symposium was held on 11 and 12 April 2002.

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Programme and background materials

Thursday, 11 April 2002

10:00-13:00	Opening remarks by the Chairman Andrew L. Stoler, Deputy-Director General, WTO Secretariat
	Introduction to the Symposium Aaditya Mattoo, Senior Economist, World Bank PowerPoint presentation
	1. GATS, Mode 4 and the Pattern of Commitments Antonia Carzaniga, Economic Affairs Officer, WTO Secretariat PowerPoint presentation Paper
	2. Mode 4 and the GATS — Challenges and Opportunities B.K. Zutshi, Former Ambassador of India to the WTO Richard B. Self, Senior International Advisor, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld PowerPoint presentation Paper
	3. Economic Implications of Mode 4 Trade Alan Winters, Professor, School of Social Sciences, University of Sussex PowerPoint presentation Paper
15:00-18:00	4. Current Regimes for Temporary Movement of Services Providers Julia Nielson, Administrator, Trade Directorate, OECD PowerPoint presentation Paper Paper Paper Jolita Butkeviciene, Economic Affairs Officer, Trade in Services, UNCTAD PowerPoint presentation
	5. Mode 4 Trade — The Protagonists' View Mark Hatcher, Director, Global Regulatory and Professional Affairs, PricewaterhouseCoopers, UK Paper Suwit Wibulpolprasert, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand PowerPoint presentation Paper Josephine J. Francisco, President, NYK-Fil Ship Management, The Philippines PowerPoint presentation Paper

Friday, 12 April 2002

10:00- 13:00
5. Mode 4 Trade — The Protagonists' View (continued)
Enos Brown, Chief Information Officer, HEART Trust/NTA, Jamaica
PowerPoint presentation
Paper
Mike Waghorne, Assistant General Secretary, Public Services International
PowerPoint presentation
Paper
Pierre Page, President, Teknosoft, Switzerland
PowerPoint presentation
Paper
Vaibhav Parikh, NASSCOM, India
PowerPoint presentation
Paper

6. Mode 4 Trade — The Regulators' View

Paul Henry, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada
PowerPoint presentation
Paper

Torsten Christen, German Ministry of Labour, Germany
PowerPoint presentation
Paper

Howard Ronald Dobson, US Department of Labour, United States
PowerPoint presentation
Paper

Ivan Lambinon, Department of Home Affairs, and Mario Ambrosini, Advisor to the Minister of Home Affairs South Africa
Paper

15:00- 17:00

7. Final Panel — Overview

Moderator — Hamid Mamdouh, Director, Trade in Services Division, WTO Secretariat

Members' representatives — Canada, India, the Philippines and Switzerland