Ginebra, Suiza, 1 de noviembre del 2012.- El 31 de octubre de 2012, el Comité de Contratación Pública aprobó las
solicitudes de la condición de observador presentadas por Indonesia y
Montenegro. Con esta decisión, se eleva a 25 el número total de gobiernos que
tienen reconocida esa condición en el Acuerdo plurilateral sobre Contratación
Pública.
(de momento sólo en
inglés)
Indonesia,
in thanking the Committee, said that it had undertaken significant reforms in
its government procurement system in recent years, and stressed the importance
of transparency in combatting corruption. It expressed the hope that its
observer status in the Committee will help it move towards its target of more
transparent and competitive government procurement regulations.
The European
Union, United States, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Canada, Chinese Taipei,
Korea, Norway, Liechtenstein and Hong Kong, China welcomed Indonesia as an
observer, and urged the country to apply to become a full-fledged Party to the
Agreement.
In congratulating
Montenegro on its acceptance as an observer, several delegations referred to
the commitment that Montenegro assumed, when it became a WTO member earlier
this year, to also apply for GPA accession. They made clear that they stood
ready to support Montenegro through its eventual accession to the Agreement.
On another
matter, the United States reported to the Committee that a state court had
issued an injunction on a Florida state law banning participation in government
procurement by businesses that have dealings with Cuba or Syria. It added that
this injunction had been appealed by Florida to a higher court but that in the
meantime, the law is not being implemented. The European Union and Canada said
they would continue to follow this matter closely.
Following
the formal meeting, the Committee met informally to review progress regarding
the accession requests of Moldova, New Zealand and China. It also discussed
efforts by Parties to bring into effect the revised GPA adopted by the
Committee on 30 March 2012.
Fuente: OMC