State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) supports the initiative of the Romanian Government to host an External Office of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Bucharest.

Establishment of the External Office can help strengthen cooperation relations between intellectual property offices in the region and provide new opportunities for developing the intellectual property system in Central and Eastern Europe area.

The requests of Member States interested in hosting a WIPO External Office were examined during the 25th session of the Program and Budget Committee (PBC), an event in which the AGEPI Director General, Octavian Apostol participated this week, in WIPO.

In all, 18 states have shown interest to open a WIPO External Office in the 2016-2017 Biennium, including Romania.

Following the evaluation of dossiers presented by potential candidates, the committee will present its recommendations to the WIPO General Assembly in October 2016.

Also in the current session, participants in the WIPO Committee examined the financial and audit statements prepared by WIPO bodies in charge, including the Report on the Implementation of Activities under the WIPO Program for the 2014-2015 Biennium.