Washington, D.C. - "The 5th round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was held in Rabat on July 16th and 17th, 2009, hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco. Participants in these negotiations included Australia, Canada, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, the EU Presidency (Sweden) and EU Member States, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States of America.
"The meeting was opened by Mr. Ahmed Reda Chami, Minister of Industry, Trade and New Technologies, Mr. Khalid Naciri, Minister of Communication and Spokesman of the Government and Mr. Youssef Amrani, Secretary General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Mr. Ahmed Reda Chami underlined in his speech the importance of ACTA as an agreement which shall provide for an enhanced framework to fight counterfeiting and piracy. He reaffirmed the commitment of the Kingdom of Morocco to make intellectual property as a main priority of economic, cultural and technological development.
"During this meeting, the discussions focused on International Cooperation, Enforcement Practices and Institutional Issues (see April 6, 2009 "ACTA Summary of Key Elements Under Discussion"). Participants also continued discussions on transparency matters, including providing information to stakeholders and the interested public. Participants agreed to release draft agendas before all subsequent negotiating rounds.
"Participants in this meeting agreed that the next round will be hosted by the Republic of Korea in November 2009. With regard to the progress of negotiations, participants confirmed their intention to conclude the agreement as soon as possible in 2010."
For more information, contact Carol Guthrie at (202) 395-3230.
