Visit of WIPO'S Director General Mr. Francis Gurry in Athens, Meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Evangelos Venizelos

The Director General of WIPO Mr Francis Gurry visited Athens on the 27-28 April, on the occasion of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In the context of the visit Mr. Gurry met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Evangelos Venizelos on Monday 28.4.2014. In the meeting Professor Dr. Constantine Polyzogopoulos, Mr Evangelos Sekeris, A’ Counselor, Acting Director of the Diplomatic Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ioannis Katsaras, A’ Counselor for Economic and Commercial Affairs and Ms Paraskevi Nakiou, Attaché in the Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN in Geneva were present.

During the discussion which was held in a friendly climate Mr Venizelos congratulated Mr Gurry on his re-election and Mr Gurry congratulated Mr Venizelos for the successful Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union which will be concluded in June. He also stressed the important cooperation between the Organization and the Permanent Mission of Greece in Geneva.

Subsequently, the discussion covered all the spectrum of the issues related to intellectual property and was especially focused on the challenges in the era of globalization.

Mr. Gurry made a reference to the growing presence of the private sector in the International Economic Organizations and the challenges that multilateral diplomacy faces nowadays. He underlined that the International Economic Organizations should become more relevant and keep pace with the external world. As he stressed out multilateral diplomacy is slow for some reason mainly because of the risk that policy will be defined by default by the market. Mr Venizelos also referred to the fast growing field of multilateral diplomacy and the importance that Greece attributes to it.

Mr Venizelos and Mr Gurry both acknowledged the importance of the *Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances* which Greece was among the first to sign (June 2013) and is currently processing the ratification of.

Earlier, Mr Gurry had delivered the opening speech at the International Conference on Intellectual Property and Health Innovation organized by the Hellenic Industrial Organization (OBI).