WORK WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The WTO and ITU

Collaboration between WTO and ITU is mandated in the GATS Annex on Telecommunications para 6.

Under the cooperation agreement cooperation agreement between the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the WTO, the two organizations participate as observers in each others' meetings and collaborate at the staff level on such activities as research, publications, conferences and workshops. For example, during 2006 the WTO Secretariat provided technical and drafting comments on portions of an ICT Regulation Toolkit being prepared by the ITU. Funding for the project was provided by the World Bank-managed Information for Developments (infoDev) donor facility. The WTO also participated in ITU Study Groups and Expert Meetings, including, for example, one on the regulatory implications of “next generation?IP-enabled networks. WTO is also an observer at the ITU.