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Illia ChernohI

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Event Details

Please access the 25 March 2025 EBRD GPA seminar recording below (please click on the image)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in collaboration with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat, is organizing a hybrid capacity-building seminar on the occasion of the plenary meeting of the WTO Committee on Government Procurement (CGP) scheduled for 26 March 2025. The seminar, "eProcurement for domestic and cross-border trade: experience of GPA Parties from transition economies" will take place on 25 March 2025 and will bring together representatives of the GPA Parties and Members with commitments to start negotiations to accede to the Agreement. The seminar is aimed at enhancing the understanding of GPA provisions related to use of electronic procurement tools with the view of achieving efficiency in domestic and cross-border procurement procedures.


The WTO's Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) 2012 provides a framework for reciprocal market access while setting policy and governance standards for public procurement markets. For transition economies, engagement with the GPA 2012 โ€”either as observers or through accession negotiationsโ€”creates opportunities to modernize national public procurement systems, enhance transparency, and integrate domestic procurement markets into global trade networks.


In 2012, the EBRD initiated a collaborative technical cooperation program with the WTO Secretariat, the EBRD GPA Technical Cooperation Facility, to enhance private sector competitiveness and facilitate cross-border trade in transition economies. Recognizing the benefits of the GPA 2012 membership for transition economies โ€”such as improved governance, enhanced trade opportunities, and stronger economic integrationโ€”the EBRD GPA Technical Cooperation Facility is actively supporting governments with interest or commitment to open negotiations.


Through targeted technical assistance provided by the EBRD, five transition economies successfully acceded to the GPA 2012: Armenia, Montenegro, Moldova, Ukraine, and most recently, in 2023 North Macedonia. Albania is currently advancing its GPA 2012 negotiations with EBRD support. Other EBRD countries of operations, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Tรผrkiye, have benefited from capacity building initiatives. With the EBRD expanding its banking operations in Africa, in 2024 the EBRD GPA TC Facility became open to interested Members from Sub-Saharan economies.


Russian interpretation will be available.

Agenda

March 25, 2025

Main Schedule

09:00 - 09:20
Registration
09:30 - 09:35
Welcome remarks
Eliza Niewiadomska (Senior Counsel, Legal Transition Programme at EBRD)
Eliza Niewiadomska
Reto Malacrida (Counsellor and Head of the Government Procurement and Competition Policy Group at WTO)
Reto Malacrida
09:35 - 09:50
Keynote presentation 'Amazon.gov: Benefits and Risks of E-Marketplaces in Public Procurement'
Desiree Klingler (Assistant Professor of Public Law at University of St.Gallen)
Desiree Klingler
09:50 - 10:00
Q&A
10:00 - 10:20
E-procurement and open data under the GPA 2012
Presentation by the WTO Secretariat
Astghik Solomonyan (Legal Affairs Officer at WTO Secretariat)
Astghik Solomonyan
10:20 - 10:40
Ukraine: Leveraging eProcurement to Drive Transparency and Economic Growth, and Post-War Recovery in Ukraine
Mykola Tkachenko (CEO of SoE Prozorro)
Mykola Tkachenko
10:40 - 11:00
Montenegro: E-procurement as a tool for reforming public spending
Jelena Jovetic (Directorate General of Directorate for Public Procurement Policy at Ministry of finance)
Jelena Jovetic
11:00 - 11:20
Moldova: eProcurement in the cross-border trade challenges
Ana Luca (Deputy Secretary General at Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova)
Ana Luca
11:20 - 11:40
E-Procurement in North Macedonia in the context of the GPA accession
Biljana Dodevska (State Counsellor for International Trade Cooperation at Ministry of Economy)
Biljana Dodevska
Katerina Popovska (Head of Unit for European Affairs and International Relations at Public Procurement Bureau of the North Macedonia)
Katerina Popovska
11:40 - 11:55
Q&A
11:55 - 12:00
Closing remarks
Eliza Niewiadomska (Senior Counsel, Legal Transition Programme at EBRD)
Eliza Niewiadomska

Speakers

Eliza Niewiadomska (Senior Counsel, Legal Transition Programme at EBRD)

Eliza Niewiadomska

Senior Counsel, Legal Transition Programme at EBRD

Reto Malacrida (Counsellor and Head of the Government Procurement and Competition Policy Group at WTO)

Reto Malacrida

Counsellor and Head of the Government Procurement and Competition Policy Group at WTO

Astghik Solomonyan (Legal Affairs Officer at WTO Secretariat)

Astghik Solomonyan

Legal Affairs Officer at WTO Secretariat

Desiree Klingler (Assistant Professor of Public Law at University of St.Gallen)

Desiree Klingler

Assistant Professor of Public Law at University of St.Gallen

Ana Luca (Deputy Secretary General at Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova)

Ana Luca

Deputy Secretary General at Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova

Mykola Tkachenko (CEO of SoE Prozorro)

Mykola Tkachenko

CEO of SoE Prozorro

Jelena Jovetic (Directorate General of Directorate for Public Procurement Policy at Ministry of finance)

Jelena Jovetic

Directorate General of Directorate for Public Procurement Policy at Ministry of finance

Biljana Dodevska (State Counsellor for International Trade Cooperation at Ministry of Economy)

Biljana Dodevska

State Counsellor for International Trade Cooperation at Ministry of Economy

Katerina Popovska (Head of Unit for European Affairs and International Relations at Public Procurement Bureau of the North Macedonia)

Katerina Popovska

Head of Unit for European Affairs and International Relations at Public Procurement Bureau of the North Macedonia

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