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“CHINA: GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT TECHNICAL COOPERATION INITIATIVE” ORIENTATION VISIT - JULY 5-13, 2009
KEA will plan, organize and manage this capacity building Orientation Visit (OV) in coordination with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC), with the goal of facilitating the Chinese delegation’s and thus the Chinese government’s understanding of and obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement of Government Procurement (GPA) (www.wto.org) . This program is expected to lead to a more transparent Chinese government procurement system that adheres to non-discriminatory procurement practices.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) will invite a total of twelve (12) delegates from China and one (1) representative from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, to visit the United States for twelve (12) days in the fall of 2008. Delegates will include high level policy officials involved in China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procedures (GPA). The Working Group will include representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Finance (MOF), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and other stakeholders.
“The Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is to date the only legally binding agreement in the WTO focusing on the subject of government procurement. Its present version was negotiated in parallel with the Uruguay Round in 1994, and entered into force on 1 January 1996. It is a plurilateral treaty administered by a Committee on Government Procurement, which includes the WTO Members that are Parties to the GPA, and thus have rights and obligations under the Agreement. The GPA is based on the principles of openness, transparency and non-discrimination, which apply to Parties' procurement covered by the Agreement, to the benefit of Parties and their suppliers, goods and services.”
This OV will target significant procurement issues and discussions to include the following subjects:
The objectives of this OV are:
• To introduce the delegation from China to U.S. federal, state and municipal authorities engaged in procurement policies and procedures;
• To enhance the Chinese Government’s understanding of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA);
• To highlight issues related to best practices in government procurement policies and regulations, GPA accession processes, implementation of the GPA obligations, and the benefits of GPA accession as demonstrated by the U.S. Government procurement systems.
The proposed delegation may include the following senior officials from the following Chinese Government Ministries and Agencies:
• Ministry of Finance (MOF)
• National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)
• Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)
• Associated stakeholders in public and private sectors
Additional topics and examples of procurement policies and practices will be included in the agenda, based upon the specific interests and needs of the delegation.
The visit is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., Harrisburg, Pa. and New York CIty, N.Y. Two Round Table Briefings may take place in Washington, D.C. Site visits will be arranged to both federal, state and municipal agencies and facilities and commercial supply chain and procurement firms in the sector who have specific interest or potential for business in China.
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“IRAQ CIVIL AVIATION RECONSTRUCTION" ORIENTATION VISIT - DATES TO BE DETERMINED
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) (www.ustda.gov) will invite twelve (12) senior Iraqi Civil Aviation officials to visit the United States in December of 2008. A representative of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will accompany the delegation from Iraq.
The visit will last ten (10) days (including travel time) with five (5) of those days being spent in the Washington, D.C. area. This phase will include meetings with senior officials in the:
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT),
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
U.S. Financial Institutions
and other U.S. Government Agencies and Civil Aviation Firms.
Site visits will include regional FAA Air Traffic Management (ATM) facilities and local international and domestic airports, including the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). The delegation will travel to Oklahoma City, OK to meet with officials from the FAA Academy, the FAA Logistics Center and the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute.
The objective of the OV will be to support the Iraqi delegations efforts to develop significant relationships with U.S. organizations that would then lead to greater U.S. involvement in Iraq's civil aviation sector. Civil aviation is essential to economic growth, and to opening up Iraq, especially the safer provinces, to international commercial passenger and cargo traffic. USTDA anticipates that this OV will help advance Iraq's reconstruction under infrastructure growth, technology transfer, and productivity improvement.
A one-day Business Briefing for U.S. companies will be held during the period in Washington, D.C.
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