Sep 27, 1985

GSTP NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE AGREES ON WORK PROGRAMME.

GENEVA, SEPTEMBER 25 (IFDA/CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN)— The Negotiating Committee for the establishment of the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) among members of the Group of 77, at its formal meeting here Wednesday, named a eleven-member bureau and agreed on a programme of work to enable the first round of negotiations to be launched next year.-

A Ministerial meeting on GSTP, held at New Delhi in July, agreed on a time-frame and immediate programme of work for the launch of the first round of negotiations by May 1986, and its conclusion by May 1987.-

The Ministers, in their declaration, had also laid out the various pre-negotiation works to be completed and the time-table for the same.-

The GSTP Negotiating Committee, which held two for al meetings in Geneva this month, took note of the Ministerial declaration and agreed on a bureau for the Committee, and a programme of work so as to enable the target dates set by the Ministers to be met.-

The Committee, at its meeting Wednesday, elected Amb. Shrirang P. Shukla of India as its President, and named ten other vice-presidents - two from Asia, four from Africa and four from Latin America, one of whom would be the rapporteur of the Committee.-

The Committee also decided to set up three working groups to carry out some of the pre-negotiating tasks assigned by the Ministers.-

One working group, to be chaired by Indonesian Amb. Poedji Koentarso is to elaborate and finalise a framework agreement, which should incorporate the ground rules for the negotiations.-

A second working group to be chaired by the Argentina's Amb. Osvaldo Lopez Noguerol is to elaborate the "techniques and modalities" for the first round of negotiations.-

A third working group, to be chaired by Egypt’s Mahmoud Assran is to finalise the ground rules for the negotiations.-

A working party, chaired by Somalia’s Abdulkarim Mohamed Najib was asked to draw up the rules and procedures of the Negotiating Committee itself.-

According to the time-table suggested by the Delhi Ministerial meeting, the framework agreement is to be finalised by the Negotiating Committee by October 31, and the techniques and modalities for the first round of negotiations elaborated by December 31, 1985.-

The negotiating plan for the negotiations is to be drawn up by February 28, 1986.-

The first round of negotiations is to commence not later than May 1, 1986, and completed by May 1, 1787.-

Brazil has offered to host a Ministerial meeting of the GSTP Negotiating Committee in May 1986 for the launch of the first round of negotiations.-

At the Delhi meeting, the Ministers agreed that they would hold other meetings, as appropriate, to carry out periodic political reviews, and to monitor and evaluate the progress made in all matters relating to the GSTP, and provide the necessary direction in this regard.-