Qatar Delivers Arab Group Statement at WIPO States Assemblies' Meeting

HE Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri

HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Office in Geneva Ambassador Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri delivered the statement of the Arab Group during the sixty-second series of meetings of the assemblies of member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Delivering the speech in the name of the State of Qatar in its capacity as the coordinator of the Arab Group, HE Al Mansouri said that the Arab Group affirms its interest in the work of WIPO and its keenness on the continuous development of the global intellectual property system, while taking into account the Development Agenda recommendations, with the aim of taking into consideration the priorities and needs of developing countries and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

He explained that the Group welcomes the achievements that have been made in this field, which are contained in the reports of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP), and supports the intensification of efforts in the coming period to complete the implementation of the recommendations that have been delayed, especially due to the disruption caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, which led to failure to adhere to the timeframes that were set for implementing these recommendations. "Our group also supports, in this context, the completion of the work of the WIPO Assembly, which was postponed from last year due to the pandemic," Al Mansouri said.

He expressed the Arab Group's welcoming of or the medium-term strategic plan for the period 2022-2026 for WIPO, expressing full satisfaction with the decisions of the Program and Budget Committee (PBC) regarding the revised policy on languages at WIPO.

He added, "The Arab Group realizes the pivotal importance of WIPO's work in enhancing the ability of member states to benefit from the intellectual property system to achieve their socio-economic development goals, and affirms its readiness to engage in constructive and positive discussions in this field."

HE Al Mansouri called on member states to consider positively the continuous calls for the inclusion of the Arabic language in WIPO's systems, in particular the Madrid International Trademark System and the Hague International Design System.

He indicated that the Arab Group has worked continuously during the last period to achieve its goals in sustainable development and building a knowledge-based economy. It supported the ongoing negotiations in the Organization to develop global protection laws, in particular the negotiations of the Intergovernmental Committee on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights and the ongoing negotiations of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC). He said: We look forward to following this approach and achieving the largest possible consensus among member states".

Concluding, HE the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar expressed the Arab Group's aspiration to achieve the largest possible positive results in this conference, with the aim of confirming WIPO's leadership in developing an effective and comprehensive international intellectual property system that would promote innovations to help achieve sustainable development for all. (QNA)