Report on the Seminar Concerning International Trade in Textiles with Particular Reference to the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) Hong Kong,
May 9-13, 1977.
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The Seminar convened by the Export Market Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, with the cooperation of the Government of Hong Kong and of the GATT, UNCTAD and ESCAP Secretariats, was held in Hong Kong from 9-13 May 1977. Having been proposed initially as a forum for discussion among Commonwealth members of MFA, a number of whom had expressed interest in the holding of such a seminar, its scope was soon enlarged to include the non- Commonwealth members of the Arrangement in the ESCAP region through the good offices of the ESCAP Secretariat.
2. The objective of the Seminar was to provide the participants with a greater understanding of the issues involved in the current negotiations on the MFA in the GATT Textiles Committee, by means of an exchange of views on the various aspects pertaining to the working of the Arrangement. It was also designed to offer an opportunity for reviewing the current state of international trade in textiles and products, especially from the point of view of developing countries.
3.
Participants from all the nine Commonwealth developing members of the MFA, namely, Bangladesh, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago, and from two non-Commonwealth developing countries of the ESCAP region, namely, Republic of Korea and Thailand, attended the seminar.
4.
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Representatives from GATT UNCTAD and ESCAP Secretariats and the UNDP/MTN Regional Project in Bangkok also participated in the Seminar. The Commonwealth Secretariat was represented at the seminar by Mr. D K Srinivasachar Trade Adviser in Geneva, and Mr P P Kanthan, Chief Project Officer in the Export Market Development Division, Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation in London. (A list of the participants is at Annexure 1).
5.
Mr. Srinivasachar in his welcome address as Chairman gave the background to the convening of the Seminar and welcomed the participants. He added that in view of the fact that the negotiations in the GATT Textiles Committee on MFA were entering a crucial stage, the timing of the Seminar seemed most appropriate. He thanked the Government of Hong Kong for providing host facilities and for the arrangements made in connection with the Seminar, and pointed out how, as the largest exporter of textiles and clothing in the developing world, Hong Kong constituted a particu- larly appropriate venue for the seminar discussions.
6.
Thereafter, the Hon. David Jordan, Director of Commerce and Industry Government of Hong Kong, inaugurated the Seminar. In his inaugural address, he drew attention to the
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