Comments Off on LDCs Request for an Extension of their Transition Period under TRIPS
The least developed countries (LDCs) have been exempted for a period from implementing the obligations in the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement. This period is expiring in July. Below is the statement of the LDC Group as presented by the Group’s Coordinator, Ambassador Shanker Das Bairagi of Nepal, at the TRIPS Council meeting on 5-6 March. The statement lays out the rational for the LDC Group’s request for an extension of the transition period.
Comments Off on South Centre Welcomes the Indian Supreme Court Decision on Novartis Case
The Indian Supreme Court on 1 April ruled against a petition by Novartis company to overturn a Patent Office decision not to grant a patent for Novartis’ medicine to treat leukaemia. Below is a statement issued by the South Centre in support of the Supreme Court’s decision, which has positive implications for access to medicines.
Comments Off on Investment Agreements: A New Threat to the TRIPS Flexibilities?
The bilateral investment treaties (BITs) may be a threat to access to medicines as shown by a recent legal suit by a drug multinational against Canada for invalidating a patent. (more…)
The death of Hugo Chavez in March sparked an outpouring of grief in Venezuela and South America, but his legacy will live on in his policies and South-South initiatives.
Comments Off on The First BRICS towards a South Bank?
A member of the South Commission (1987-1990) reflects on the moves by the recent Summit of the BRICS to establish a BRICS development bank – an idea that the Commission had promoted.
Comments Off on The State of Multilateral Affairs and South Centre Activities 2012
At the annual meeting of the South Centre’s Council of Representatives, the Executive Director Martin Khor presented the following report of the Centre’s activities in 2012. (more…)
Comments Off on The UN’s Post-2015 Development Agenda & the Rio+20 Follow Up discussed at South Conference
The South Centre Conference in Geneva held a session on Sustainable Development issues. This article focuses on two presentations on the UN’s post-2015 Development Agenda and on the post-Rio+20 Summit process. (more…)
Comments Off on South Centre Conference discusses WTO’s Doha Round impasse and Bali Ministerial
A distinguished panel of experts and diplomats presented their views on the fate of the Doha Round and the upcoming WTO Bali Ministerial during the South Centre’s Conference in Geneva.
Comments Off on The Board and Council of the South Centre Hold Meetings in Geneva
The end of January and the beginning of February 2013 saw the South Centre organising a series of events centred around the 30th meeting of its Board and the XIVth meeting of its Council of Representatives, and included a reception for the Member States and a holding of a South Conference on the global economic crisis and review of multilateral negotiations. (more…)
Comments Off on South Centre Chairperson Holds Meeting with President of China
The Chairperson of the Board of the South Centre, former President of Tanzania H.E. Benjamin Mkapa, has met with the new President of China H.E. Xi Jinping, when he visited Tanzania. The meeting took place on 25 March in Dar Es Salaam.
President Mkapa briefed President Xi on the work of the South Centre and asked for China’s participation and support for expanding South-South cooperation with the South Centre.
According to a report from China’s Xinhua news agency:
“Xi spoke highly of Mkapa’s efforts as the South Center chairman in promoting South-South cooperation and increasing representation of the developing countries, adding that China is willing to continue to provide help within its capability to the South Center.
“Mkapa said he has visited China many times, and could, on each visit, witness the development that China has achieved, which has fortified his determination to explore a development path that fits the basic situation of his country.
“He also hailed President Xi’s visit to Tanzania as a new milestone in bilateral ties, which will vigorously enhance bilateral cooperation.
“Mkapa promised that he would continue to contribute to the development of Tanzania-China relations and that the South Center would like to strengthen its cooperation with China.”
The South Centre believes that this meeting will greatly contribute to the further cooperation between the South Centre and China.
The meeting of President Xi and Chairman Mkapa was also highlighted on prime time TV in China (in the TV station CCTV) in the 7pm news of that day.
Xinhua News Agency Report of the Meeting between Chinese President and South Centre Chairperson
DAR ES SALAAM, March 25 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday met separately with Ali Mohamed Shein, leader of Tanzania’s Zanzibar, and former Tanzanian President Benjamin William Mkapa.
In a meeting with Mkapa, President Xi praised the former Tanzanian president as an old friend of China, as well as an advocate and a witness of the China-Africa and China-Tanzania friendship.
Thanks to the joint efforts by generations of leaders from both countries, the China-Tanzania all-weather friendship has enjoyed constant development, said Xi.
The Chinese President believed that with concerted efforts from both sides, the bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership based on mutual benefit and win-win results would undoubtedly move forward.
Mkapa, who served as president of Tanzania from 1995 to 2005, is currently chairman of the South Center, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries with its headquarters in Geneva.
Xi spoke highly of Mkapa’s efforts as the South Center chairman in promoting South-South cooperation and increasing representation of the developing countries, adding that China is willing to continue to provide help within its capability to the South Center.
Mkapa said he has visited China many times, and could, on each visit, witness the development China has achieved, which has fortified his determination to explore a development path that fits the basic situation of his country.
He also hailed President Xi’s visit to Tanzania as a new milestone in bilateral ties, which will vigorously enhance bilateral cooperation.
Mkapa promised that he would continue to contribute to the development of Tanzania-China relations and that the South Center would like to strengthen its cooperation with China.
