Event Details
In collaboration with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat, the EBRD GPA Technical Cooperation Facility is organizing a workshop and capacity building activities on the margins of the meetings of the WTO Committee on Government Procurement (CGP).
The WTO plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA 2012) increases reciprocal market access among Parties and sets out minimum policy and governance standards for public procurement, ensuring the creation of open, non-discriminatory, and transparent procurement markets. Revised in 2012, the GPA is a binding international agreement that incentivises the use of international procurement policy standards and has gained an important role in guiding procurement reforms in transition economies. Accession to the Agreement is a reform catalyst that improves governance of public contracts and strengthen the domestic economy.
The Workshop aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building on the GPA 2012. In particular, the workshop will delve into the significance of GPA accession for fostering open, non-discriminatory, and transparent cross-border procurement markets. Drawing on the successful experiences from transition economies, such as Moldova, Ukraine, and most recently, North Macedonia, the Workshop will provide guidance for WTO Members and observers, especially the EBRD countries of operations, seeking to accede to the Agreement and successfully implement commitments under the GPA 2012.
The EBRD GPA TC Facility offers technical support to WTO Members and the EBRD countries of operations (EBRD CoOs) which seek to become a Party to the GPA 2012 or are looking to implement the commitments under the Agreement.
Since 2012, several transition economies have successfully completed GPA negotiations and accession with the technical support of the EBRD GPA TC Facility, including Armenia, Montenegro (GPA Party since 2015), Moldova (GPA Party since 2016), and Ukraine (GPA Party since 2016). Most recently, in October 2023, North Macedonia acceded to the GPA 2012 as its 22nd Party following several rounds of negotiations and with the support of the Facility. The Bank is also assisting Albania in its just reopened GPA accession negotiations. Among the EBRD CoOs, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia and Tajikistan, and have undertaken commitment to negotiate GPA accession.
Russian interpretation will be available.
