Director General of WIPO Consults with SAARC
Geneva, June 25, 2002
Press Releases PR/2002/318
The role of intellectual property in promoting economic growth and development was the focus of discussions at the Second WIPO-South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Consultation Meeting, held at WIPO headquarters in Geneva on June 25, 2002. The meeting was attended by the Ambassadors and heads of the Permanent Missions of SAARC countries represented in Geneva, and was co-chaired by the Ambassador of Nepal, H. E. Ambassador Shambhu Ram Simkhada and the WIPO Director General, Dr. Kamil Idris.
The importance of using intellectual property for development was emphasized by the participants. It was acknowledged that individual SAARC countries (grouping Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) were benefiting greatly from intellectual property programs that were being implemented in cooperation with WIPO. Further programs addressing shared areas of concern could also be undertaken at the sub-regional level. A number of priority areas for the implementation of such programs were identified including traditional knowledge, small and medium-sized enterprises, electronic commerce, collective copyright management , enforcement, and public awareness campaigns to demystify and nurture an intellectual property culture. The SAARC countries also expressed keen interest in undertaking certain innovative programs, especially the protection of digital images of museum holdings and access to these through the WIPONET. WIPONET is an initiative to establish a global intellectual property information network linking the intellectual property offices of all WIPO member states.
Dr. Idris pointed out that the SAARC countries had immense intellectual property assets and that the effective protection and exploitation of these assets would help to further their socio-economic objectives. He stressed the need to develop an overall strategic plan for the use of intellectual property as a tool for development and the need to generate concrete deliverables' in each of the identified priority areas. He further emphasized that the planned activities should capitalize on the strengths and expertise of SAARC countries.
The SAARC heads of mission agreed to further work with WIPO to crystallize the ideas that were discussed and to initiate a range of innovative programs to benefit user groups and generate tangible economic gains. They also agreed to take steps to further strengthen cooperation between the SAARC and WIPO at various levels.
The effectiveness of the SAARC-WIPO Consultation Meeting as a mechanism for identifying and agreeing on concrete cooperation activities was noted with satisfaction by the participants. This mechanism was established at the initiative of Dr. Idris in November 2000. This exercise has significantly increased the scope and depth of cooperation between SAARC and WIPO, and has enhanced understanding of the policy implications of developments in the field of intellectual property.
In its meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal, in January 2002, the SAARC Council of Ministers endorsed the decisions taken by the Standing Committee of SAARC to further strengthen and expand cooperation with WIPO in the area of intellectual property including traditional knowledge.
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