Morocco Chairs in Geneva 62nd Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of WIPO Member States

The 62nd series of meetings of the Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) opened Monday in Geneva under the chairmanship of Morocco. In the opening speech, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Morocco in Geneva, Omar Zniber, underlined that the Kingdom is “the first Arab country and the second African country to chair this General Assembly as a governing body and supreme decision-maker of the Organization, which meets annually to assess the progress made in the work of the Organization and discuss future directions”. Mr. Zniber thanked on this occasion the participating delegations for the confidence expressed in the Kingdom and for the continued support for the work of this body during the Moroccan presidency in the period 2019-2021, which coincided with unprecedented global economic conditions. He also highlighted the strong contribution of the Member States and their sustained efforts to achieve the objectives set out under this mandate. The Moroccan diplomat also shed light on the efforts made within the WIPO Assemblies, under the Moroccan chairmanship, mentioning in particular the regular continuation of the organization’s meetings despite the COVID-19 restrictions, in addition to the convening of the Organization’s major events, including the election of a new Director General. He also underlined the particular attention paid by Morocco, as president of the the Meetings of the WIPO Assemblies, to the intensification of consultative meetings, which were dedicated to the discussion of several fundamental issues. Mr. Zniber also welcomed the particular interest shown by the various delegations in the approach adopted by the Moroccan chairmanship, and which contributed to improving the understanding of the subjects under consideration, as well as the increasing awareness of the political and economic challenges that emanate from it. He also highlighted the great interaction shown by the diplomatic missions in Geneva and the member states with the approach adopted by the Moroccan presidency, during the last two years. This approach has also helped deepen the debate on the economic, cultural and scientific issues tackled by the organization, he said. The Moroccan presidency of the WIPO General Assembly was also an opportunity to highlight the role of intellectual property in promoting development in Morocco, as well as the remarkable progress made by the Kingdom in this area, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the global forum for intellectual property policy, services, information and cooperation. A specialized agency of the United Nations, WIPO assists its 193 member states in developing a balanced international IP legal framework to meet society’s evolving needs.  It provides business services for obtaining IP rights in multiple countries and resolving disputes.