Pakistan to chair UNCTAD’s 17th session on IGE

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is going to chair the 17th session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGE) on Competition Law and Policy being held by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from July 11-13 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Every year, this group meets to discuss ways of improving worldwide cooperation on competition policy implementation and enhancing convergence through dialogue. Vadiyya Khalil, the chairperson of Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) would chair the meeting, a statement said on Tuesday.

This is for the first time that Pakistan has been chosen to chair the high profile UNCTAD conference as a result of Pakistan’s commitment to effective competition law enforcement and the CCP’s involvement in UNCTAD’s activities.

In line with the agreed conclusions adopted by the IGE at its sixteenth session on July 7, 2017, the consultations at the 17th session will focus on capacity-building activities and technical assistance implemented; challenges faced by developing countries in competition and regulation in the maritime transport sector; competition issues in the sale of audio-visual rights for major sports events; voluntary peer review of the Competition Law and Policy of Botswana; reports on the UNCTAD Discussion Group on International Cooperation and the UNCTAD repository of Best Practice Tools.

In this 17th session, the IGE on Competition Law and Policy is expected to adopt the agreed conclusions and to decide on its work programme until its next session. The United Nations set of Principles on Competition provides the basis for intergovernmental consultations. The Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGE) on Competition Law and Policy is a standing body established under the United Nations Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices (UN Set) to monitor the application and implementation of the Set. The UN Set is a multilateral agreement on competition policy, which was negotiated and adopted by General Assembly resolution 35/63 on December 5, 1980.