Moldovan foreign minister meets WIPO director general

Chisinau, 1 March /MOLDPRES//- Foreign and European Integration Minister Tudor Ulianovschi had a meeting with Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Francis Gurry on 28 February, the MAEIE’s public diplomacy, strategic communication and media relations service has reported.

The two officials approached the cooperation priorities between Moldova and WIPO, and noted the positive results achieved by Moldova in the intellectual property protection.

The UN high-ranking official was informed about Moldova’s submission of the instrument of ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty on access to published works of blind people, administered by WIPO. The ratification is an important step in promoting the rights of this category of people and facilitating their social and professional integration.

In the context of the implementation of Agenda 2030, especially the sustainable development goal No9 related to innovation, the Moldovan official said about optimization of the national research and innovation system through the merger of the Research and Development Agency, the Agency for Innovation and Technology Transfer and the International Projects Centre subordinated to the Academy of Sciences of Moldova into a single institution – National Agency for Research and Development. The authority will be responsible for evaluating project proposals submitted by researchers through the competition, regardless of their institutional affiliation.

Also, the officials broached the results of the 57th meeting of the WIPO member states in October 2017, and voiced hope that the existing obstacles to promoting the organisation’s regulatory agenda will be overcome during this year.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation is the UN-led agency, responsible for policies, services and intellectual property cooperation. WIPO provides services for intellectual rights and dispute resolution in 189 member states and manages international treaties on copyright, patents and trademarks. Moldova became a member of WIPO in 1991.