EVENTS

For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD's web calendar at: http://www.ictsd.org/cal/index.htm. If you would like to submit an event, please email events@ictsd.ch.

Coming Up: 1-7 November

1-2 November, Tokyo, Japan. EMERGING ASIAN REGIONALISM: TEN YEARS AFTER THE CRISIS. Organised by the Asian Development Bank Institute, this workshop aims to review how Asian countries underwent two decades of dramatic change, from the rapid economic growth of the mid-1990s, to the large setbacks during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, to the renewed sustained expansion of the past decade with focus on Asian regionalism. Internet: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2007/Asian-Regionalism/default.asp.

1 November, Geneva, Switzerland. BRIEFING ON STRUCTURALLY WEAK, VULNERABLE AND SMALL ECONOMIES. Organised by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In the hopes of addressing the Sao Paulo consensus' call for enhanced work on the challenges faced by small, vulnerable, or otherwise structurally disadvantaged economies, Habib Ouane (Director of the UNCTAD Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes) will speak on how this might be done without creating a new special category of member states. Internet : http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=2068&lang=1&m=14609&year=2007&month=11

1-5 November, Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic. ADVISORY MISSION TO LAOS ON WTO ACCESSION-RELATED ISSUES. Conducted by UNCTAD, this mission to Laos is to help its negotiating team prepare and review accession-related materials, including initial offers in goods and services. UNCTAD hopes to be a bridge that allows for smooth accession that is WTO-compliant and still benefiting national development needs. Internet: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=2068&lang=1&m=14706&year=2007&month=11

WTO Events

An updated list of forthcoming WTO meetings is posted at: http://www.wto.org/meets_public/meets_e.pdf. Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed, and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings of the different bodies. Unless otherwise indicated, all WTO meetings are held at the WTO, Centre William Rappard, rue de Lausanne 154, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, and are open to WTO Members and accredited observers only.

24 October: COUNCIL FOR TRADE-RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.

24 October: COMMITTEE ON SAFEGUARDS.

25 October: RULES OF ORIGIN COMMITTEE

25 October: SUBSIDIES AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES COMMITTEE

26 October: CAPE VERDE: MEMBERSHIP NEGOTIATION (ACCESSION WORKING PARTY).

26 October: COMMITTEE ON SUBSIDIES AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES

Other Upcoming Events

12-13 November, Rome, Italy. GLOBAL FORUM ON AGRICULTURE. Jointly organized by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), this event is hosted by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. The forum will focus on African agricultural development and poverty reduction; its objectives are to disseminate and broaden the impact of new analytical work and to share reflections and deepen understanding on a number of constraints and policy issues of importance to the agricultural sector. The forum is timed to coincide with the release of World Bank's 2008 World Development Report, and newly available analysis from OECD, IFAD and FAO. Reactions to this work from African and international experts and open discussions with all participants will be key features of the Forum. Internet: http://www.oecd.org/document/57/0,3343,en_2649_201185_38964473_1_1_1_1,00.html.

19-23 November, Dar-Es-Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. WORKSHOP ON THE TEACHING AND RESEARCH OF TRADE AND POVERTY FOR AFRICAN ACADEMICS. Organised by the UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), this is a workshop will address conceptual and methodological approaches to the teaching and research of the trade-poverty relationship, as well as resulting policy implications. University teachers and/or researchers from African countries involved in teaching and research on trade, and economic and social development, are encouraged to apply. Internet: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=2068&lang=1&m=13980&year=2007&month=11

3-4 December, Cairo, Egypt. HIGH-LEVEL SYMPOSIUM: RESULTS-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION: PURSUING NATIONAL INTERESTS. This meeting is being organized as a major preparatory event for the 2008 Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The discussions will solicit the views of all stakeholders with regard to current experiences and future expectations of partnerships in selected areas of development cooperation. The discussions will be captured in a report of the Cairo meeting, including key policy messages, which will serve to inform the consultative process and analytical preparations for the 2008 DCF. Internet: http://www.un.org/ecosoc/newfunct/dcfcairo.shtml