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process. In a similar vein, Mr. H. N. Ashequr Rahman, a former State Minister for Environment, observed that green issues are indeed gaining ground in the country; however, the government should be vigilant against any attempt to bar Bangladeshi products in the international markets under the veil of environmental standards.

Mr. Abdul Mannan, Chairman of Bangladesh Small & Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) and a former negotiator for Bangladesh at the WTO, expressed his view that the diplomats and the officials of the commerce ministry will need to be adequately trained to advance the country's
interests in the ongoing WTO negotiations. The dialogue participants stressed an urgent need for more dramatic capacity building to deal withthe environmental issues.

In his comments, the session chair Ambassador Dr. Toufiq Ali mentioned that the growth of our exports would depend, to a large extent, on successful handling of tariff, non-tariff issues as well as those deemed to be "new". A WTO cell had been set up in the Geneva mission but both private and public sector capacity building is required at home, he noted.
WTO-TRIPS Agreement
A Window of Opportunity May Open Up for Bangladesh's
Pharmaceutical Industries

Commerce Minister Mr Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, MP, speaks as the Chief Guest at the dialogue while CPD Chairman, Professor Rehman Sobhan and noted industrialist Mr Samson H Chowdhury look on.

The CPD organised a dialogue on WTO, TRIPS and Public Health on December 15, 2002. Chaired by CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan, the dialogue was attended by, among others, Mr. Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, MP, the Honourable Minister for Commerce, as the Chief Guest. Opposition lawmaker Mr. Kazi Zafrullah was present as the Special Guest and noted industrialist Mr. Samson H. Chowdhury was the Guest of Honour. Professor Anthony VanDuzer, Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, Canada presented the keynote paper.

The speakers at the dialogue noted that the Doha Ministerial Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health. Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in Doha has opened up a window of opportunity for the country's pharmaceutical industries; however, close cooperation between the private sector and the government is required to exploit the potential market opportunities. The speakers held the view that since Bangladesh would not have to comply with the TRIPS patent protection regime before January 1, 2016,the country should avail the opportunity by developing her capacity in terms of producing therapeutic ingredients. Commerce Minister, Mr. Amir Khosru
Mahmud Chowdhury noted that strategies and committees are being set into motion and an advisory council on the WTO and other working committees have been formed in

this connection. The Minister further said that these committees would accept inputs from various stakeholders, including the industrial sectors, so that in the future a coordinated approach could be taken to face the challenges emanating from the process of market liberalisation. He observed that to cash in on the situation, patent laws should be updated to comply with the TRIPS and WTO regimes.

Mr. Kazi Zafrullah underscored the need for proper understanding of the TRIPS Agreement, saying that the country's industries should know beforehand whether the deal puts any additional burden on them. He said 75% of the drugs are off-patent and the government and the stakeholders should fight hard to get extra benefits out of the 25% patented drugs.

Mr. Samson H. Chowdhury said that country's leading pharmaceutical companies are in a position to do reverse engineering to exploit the spin-offs of the TRIPS agreement, but the government has to take pragmatic steps to meet the challenges, and realise the opportunities.

Earlier, in presenting the keynote paper, Professor VanDuzer focused on the major constraints and opportunities and possible strategies for Bangladesh's pharmaceutical industry in view of WTO-TRIPS agreement. Professor VanDuzer mentioned that Bangladesh's industry has the capacity to produce pharmaceutical products but lacks the capacity to produce therapeutic ingredients and innovative capabilities. He mentioned that in a recent study, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) ranked Bangladesh at the same level as Brunei, Cambodia and Thailand but behind China, India and Indonesia, in tems of capacity in the relevant areas.
CPD Quarterly
October-December 2002