RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/59
13 March 2002
(02-1283)
General Council Original: English
CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE WORKING PARTY
ON THE ACCESSION OF SAUDI ARABIA
Communication from the Chairman of the General Council
At the General Council meeting on 15 February 2002, the outgoing Chairman of the General
Council informed Members that in his recent consultations on the appointment of officers to WTO
bodies he had also raised with delegations the question of appointment of a chairperson for the
Working Party on the Accession of Saudi Arabia, in light of the fact that its present Chairman,
Mr. Weekes (Canada), had indicated to him that he would no longer be able to serve in this capacity.The outgoing Chairman reported that as a result of these consultations, he believed that consensus
could be reached shortly on the appointment of  Ambassador Munir Akram (Pakistan), who had
offered to make himself available to chair this Working Party.  He had also recalled that the normal
procedure regarding such appointments was for the General Council to authorize its Chairman to
appoint the chairpersons for such working parties in consultation with Members and with the accedingcountry in question, and that he or the new General Council Chairman would complete these
consultations and, if there were no objections, designate the chairperson of the Working Party and so
inform the General Council in writing.
Accordingly, in the light of the further consultations that have been held on this matter both
with Members and with the Government of Saudi Arabia, I am pleased to inform Members that
Ambassador Akram will serve as the new Chairman of this Working Party.
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