UN Transcripts — https://transcripts.un.org/en/asset/k12/k12lduvwih (7th meeting) Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation — General Assembly — 6 February 2025 Language: en Automatically generated transcript — may contain errors. Not an official United Nations record. --- Chair [0:00]: Good afternoon everyone. The seventh meeting of the Committee is called to order. The Committee will continue its consideration of Agenda Item 3 entitled Organizational Matters to take action on the proposals before it. The Committee has before it two draft decisions issued as documents a AC298CRP2 and a AC298CRP9 and when draft amendment issued as document a AC298CRP6. I have been advised that the draft decisions a AC298 CRB3 and a AC298 CRB7 have been withdrawn. I now give the floor to the Secretariat. UN Secretariat · Secretariat [1:23]: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll address the CO sponsorship of CRP6 entitled Participation of international Organization, Civil society and other relevant stakeholders. Draft Amendment CRP6 was submitted to Draft Decision CRP2. If any countries not listed on CRP6 wish to co sponsor Draft Amendment CRP6, please press the microphone button now. I see no such request. Back to you, Mr. Chair. Chair [2:01]: I thank the Secretariat. Delegations wishing to make a statement. Delegations wishing to make statement in the explanation of vote before the vote on any or all of the proposals including the draft amendments under this item are invited to do so now in one intervention after action on all of them. There will be an opportunity for explanations of vote after the vote on any of all or all of them. I remind delegations that the statements in explanation vote are limited to five minutes. I see no request for the floor. We will now proceed to consider draft decisions CRB 2 and CRP 9 and draft amendments to CRB 6. The Committee will first proceed to consider draft decision CRB2 before we proceed to take action on draft decision CRB2 entitled Participation of international organizations, Civil society and other relevant stakeholders. In accordance with Rule 130 of the Rules of Procedures, the Committee shall first take a decision on draft amendments CRB 6. The committee will now take a decision on draft amendment CRB6. May I take it that the Committee wishes to adopt the draft amendment CRB6? I hear no objection. It is so decided. May I take it that the Committee wish to adopt the draft decision CRB 2 as amended? I hear no objection. It is so decided. The Committee will now take a decision on draft decision CRB 9 entitled Decision Making on matters of substance. May I take it that the Committee wishes to adopt draft decision crb9. Distinguish. Distinguish. Delegate of France, the floor is yours. France [5:05]: Thank you very much. Chair. I would like to speak on behalf of France, Italy, Malta, Czech Republic and the UK. Mr. Chair, we would like to submit an amendment on this proposal to Begin. We would like to thank you as well as all of the various groups for their constructive exchanges on the key issue of the modalities of decision making in the various proposals that were put forward in order to find a compromise. The consensus rather is key to the success of this Committee to allow for the broadest possible participation and the broadest possible adoption of the Framework Convention. And this is how we can tangibly achieve the ambitious goals we've set for ourselves. We hope this will be the case. Therefore, we're proposing this amendment which aims to make consensus the principle under which the Committee will adopt its decisions. We emphasize that consensus is not the same thing as unanimity, which is stated explicitly in the compilation of comments on the rules of procedure of the General assembly, which is available on the Internet and does not necessarily lead to allowing any single state to paralyze our work. In this vein, we would like to propose the following amendment which is identical to that that was distributed to you as a AC298 CRP3. I'll read it in England. So this amendment would say, replace subparagraph A to C. With that the Committee shall conduct its work and take decision by consensus. Thank you. Chair [7:21]: Thank you. The representative of France has submitted an oral amendment. I give the floor to the representative of Ghana. Ghana [7:37]: I thank you, Mr. Chair. And I thank the distinguished representative of France for his oral amendment. The Africa Group believes that this oral amendment, particularly coming at a time when all delegations have worked tirelessly to reach a form of agreement that carries broad consensus. We see this amendment as setting the work of the Committee back. We do appreciate the need for consensus and we would make every effort to reach consensus. But this proposal made by our colleague from France, simply would stall work. It would ensure that the voices of developing countries, who for such a long time have been away from key decision making when it comes to international task cooperation, would continue to be at the periphery. We view this proposal as a proposal that would obstruct the work of this Committee, and therefore I wish to call a vote on it and to request all delegations to vote against this proposal. I thank you. Chair [9:10]: I thank the representative of Ghana. A recorded vote has been requested. We shall now begin the voting process. Those in favor of oral amendment proposed by representative of France, please signify. Those against abstentions. The committee is now voting on the oral amendment to CRP 9 proposed by the representative of France. Will all delegations confirm that their votes are accurately reflected on the screen? The voting has been completed. Please lock the machine. The result of the Vote is as follows. In favor 42 against, 98 abstentions 10. The oral amendment proposed by the representative of France is not adopted. Since the oral amendment proposed by the representative of France is not adopted, we shall proceed to take a decision on CRB 9. May I take it that the Committee wishes to adopt CRB9? I heed no objection. It is so decided. Delegations wishing to make a statement in the explanation of vote after the vote on any or all of the proposals, including the draft amendment, are invited to do so now in one intervention. I remind delegations that the statement in explanation of vote are limited to five minutes. Distinguished delegate of Canada followed by Javan. Canada · CANZ [11:58]: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, New Zealand and my own country, Canada. We thank all delegates for their engagement at the session and would like to express our appreciation of the open discussions that took place this week. As we stated on many previous occasions, our view is that the multilateral things tax rules should be developed and adapted, adopted by wide consensus to ensure their broad adoption and application. Pursuing reforms that do not achieve a broad consensus can only undermine the prospect for reform which goes against the objectives of this Committee of achieving greater inclusivity and effectiveness. The priority for some of us remains to support a broad implementation of the Convention by ensuring that decision will be made in an inclusive manner in the context of genuine good faith negotiations. We are pleased that there is broad agreement on the need for this Committee to make all efforts to reach agreement on substantive matters by consideration. Census this is the common expectations for a process like this one at the UN and reflects the need to give genuine consideration to the views of all Member States with the goal of seeking arrangements that are agreeable to as many States as possible. We are strongly committed to upholding this standard. Throughout the work of this Committee, divergence of views remain on how decisions are to be made when consensus is not reached. We recognize that significant efforts were made this week to bridge these divergence and address concerns that Member States expressed on how such situations are to be handled. We express openness to an approach under which all decisions are on substance would be made to add a 2 3rd majority absent consensus. This approach is in line with existing UN precedence and consist consistent with customary international law as set out in the Vienna Convention. As I discussed earlier this week, it also recognized the importance of international tax cooperation and appropriately balances the need for inclusivity with concerns about the need to move the Convention forward. We believe this proposal offered a fair and reasonable compromise that would have provided a robust basis to support the engagement of each delegation in the upcoming negotiations. It is our view that the threshold of simple majority falls short of the ambition of setting a new multilateral tax framework that is adopted broadly and appears inconsistent with the call for all delegation to engage fully in the upcoming negotiations. We also do not see the rationale for a lower decision threshold for the Convention relative to the Protocols. The Convention is the gateway to the new framework being proposed. As such, we should encourage the widest participation possible. We are obviously disappointed that the outcome of this session do not meet the high expectation that my delegation and others have for this process. We will continue to press for negotiations that are truly inclusive, transparent and fair. We are pleased that the Committee adoption strong conditions for stakeholder engagement. The participation of international organization, business groups, civil society and other relevant stakeholders will be critical to the upcoming process. We share the concern that others express regarding the lack of clarity and certainty how this Committee will be carrying out its work and now negotiation will proceed in the coming session. We trust that these questions. Questions are of great importance to all the delegation and unfortunate that the Committee did not yet address them. We look forward to discussion and adoption of these work modalities by the Committee at the earliest opportunity. Thank you. I would like this explanation to be reflected in the report of this session. Thank you. Chair [16:40]: Thank you. The Secret of Japan followed by United Kingdom Japan [16:47]: Japan would like to begin by conveying our gratitude to the Chair, Bureau Members, all the other Member States and Secretariat for their dedication on finding a middle ground during this organizational session. Japan is disappointed with the result of the decision making rule and unfortunately, we have no choice but dissociate ourselves from the decision made by this Intergovernment Committee on organizational matters, Japan believes that inclusive and effective international tax cooperation, which is a goal of the Framework Convention, is imperative to achieve the sustainable development. To this end, mutual understanding is essential to maximize participation in the Framework Convention and enables us to delve deep deeper into substantial issues. As I stated in the General Statement, the decision making rules of this Committee must contribute. Consensus building from this viewpoint, we are still concerned about whether the decision making rules decided in this organizational session could contribute to consensus building given the past process such as Ad Hoc Committee. In light of the outcome of this session, Japan will assess its future engagement in the negotiation while closely monitoring whether the process can successfully reach a consensus. Nevertheless, we will continue to contribute to inclusive and effective international tax cooperation. I thank you. Chair [18:23]: Thank you, Distinguished delegate of United Kingdom, followed by Ghana. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [18:34]: Thank you, Chair. We began this process with the ambition to strengthen the inclusiveness and effectiveness of international tax cooperation. The UK continues to support this ambition. However, we are concerned that the outcome of this organizational session does does not sufficiently reflect it, particularly on decision making. We were seeking a process which was inclusive, took into account the views of the membership, one that would secure the broadest possible support for the outcome. That is not what we're getting today with a simple majority vote. A process that is not designed to secure the broadest possible consensus behind its outputs will not in the end be effective. We have argued from the start that consensus based decision making is the only realistic basis for formulating principles of international tax cooperation that will be widely implemented and endure over time. We are disappointed that this organizational session has not enabled a meaningful discussion on these matters. Moreover, OP5 of Resolution 79235 committed to address and conclude organizational matters at this session. Throughout this week, we have repeatedly and with cross regional support requested clarity on these organizational matters. We are dismayed to see that the text that has been presented contains no plan for what dates the Committee will meet, no nor what will be discussed at each session Going forward. We urgently request that this information be shared to comply with the mandate set by the General assembly and so delegations can plan for future meetings going forward. In order for delegations to be able to fully and meaningfully participate, we expect that information and drafts will be shared in advance to allow for consultation with with capitals and adequate preparation. Thank you. Chair [20:42]: Thank you. Thanks Delegate of Ghana, followed by Singapore. Ghana [20:49]: As we come to the close of this important organizational session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, we are reminded that the road to global tax cooperation on tax matters is long. But the steps we have taken today would echo in the decisions of tomorrow. Ghana commends all delegations for their constructive engagement, unwavering commitment and the flexibility shown throughout our deliberations. We acknowledge the diversity of perspectives and and recognize the tremendous work that has been done. Each voice, each contribution has brought us closer to an understanding that reflects our objectives and these are to foster equity, inclusivity and fairness in global tax governance. While we may not have reached a perfection in outcomes, this session marks a critical milestone. The compromises reached sets the tone for the work of this committee and paves way for the collective action that lies ahead. It is through collaboration and perseverance that we will transform challenges into opportunities, ensuring that our efforts reflect the true spirit of of multilateralism. However, let us not lose sight of the bigger picture. The road ahead is still filled with challenges that require our continued unity and determination. It is vital that we remain focused on the tax at hand and that is creating a tax system that is just and beneficial to all, especially by the most vulnerable nations. Now more than ever, the world is watching and our actions today would shape the future of international tax corporations for generations to come. Therefore, let us pledge to continue working together, to be bold in our pursuit of fairness and to build a foundation of we have laid in this session. Ghana and the Africa Group calls for renewed commitment to the principles of equity and justice as we move forward in our negotiations. In closing, let this movement stand as a testament to our collective will. Let it remind us that the progress we make today is is a beacon of hope for a fairer and equitable global tax system tomorrow. We have the power to shape the future. Let us not squander this opportunity. I thank you. Chair [24:01]: Thank you, Distinguished delegate of Singapore, followed by Korea. Singapore [24:10]: Thank you, Chair. Singapore would like to express our sincere appreciation to you and the Secretariat for your work in the conduct of this organizational session. This session has helped us better understand the diverse perspectives and expectations for the next three years. It has been particularly heartening to see delegations cross the aisle and attempt to bridge differences in positions and exercise flexibility. Singapore remains committed to inclusive and effective international tax cooperation. Multilateral solutions and collective actions will be needed for a stable, coherent and predictable international tax landscape. As I mentioned this week, we believe that inclusivity must be at the core of our efforts. Given how our economies are inextricably intertwined, we have maintained that every effort to exhaust consensus must be made to adequately address concerns of every Member State. Tax is a sovereign matter and has deep implications for the growth and development of each Member State. Inability to subscribe to the mandates of the Framework Convention or its Protocols due to difficulties in implementation or compliance will lead to a fragmentation of the international tax landscape. We were encouraged to see the attempts over the past days to bridge the two earlier draft decisions submitted by Mexico and Norway and the African Group. We thank the delegations for showing this spirit of flexibility which we feel should be maintained throughout our negotiations. That said, we would appreciate greater clarification on why the different thresholds for voting were required between the Framework Convention and the Protocols, if they might imply a distinction in importance between substantive matters to be discussed in these two instruments and how they are to be operationalized. Given our current lack of clarity of what will be discussed in these instruments or how they will be scoped moving forward, we believe that we must now focus on what is really needed in this technical process, new and innovative ideas to tackle problems in the tax architecture following proper analysis of the existing gaps. We would also appreciate greater clarity on how this Committee's work will be structured and the roadmap for the process so that we can better organize ourselves. Chair Singapore will continue to participate constructively in this process. We urge all Member States to consider what is the real objective at the end and to accordingly embrace trust, consensus and inclusivity in our conduct, decision making and cooperation as we work on these instruments. Thank you. Chair [26:49]: Thank you, Distinguished Delegate of Republic of Korea, followed by Germany. Republic of Korea [26:55]: Thank you, Chair, for giving me the floor. First of all, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all Member States and the Secretariat for their efforts in establishing a comprehensive and effective framework for the international tax cooperation regarding decision making. Effective and inclusive of the UN Framework Convention can be achieved in the process of actual enforcement of the broad range of Member States based on the broad consensus of the Member States, beyond the participation of the largest majority in the discussion process. Since the UN Framework Convention will examine various implementation measures of the various areas of international taxations on the premise of differing interests, it is expected that the Framework Convention will not be approved and enforced by the Member States unless the decisions are made based on broad consensus. Since international norms have a direct impact on the tax sovereignty of individual countries, I believe that it is crucial to secure the agreement of a majority of Member States. In closing, I would like to once again express my appreciation to all Member States for their valuable contributions to their meeting discussions. The road ahead may be challenging, but with continued cooperation and collective commitment, I'm confident that we can build a more effective and inclusive international tax framework. I will look forward to to our ongoing dialogue and collaborations. Thank you. Chair [28:39]: Thank you, Distinguished Delegate of Germany, followed by Israel. Germany [28:51]: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Dear Chair, Distinguished delegates, colleagues, Germany thanks the Chair and the Vice Chairs for their hard work and organizing and guiding the negotiations of the Committee over the past few days. Germany acknowledges the significant efforts invested in the negotiations. However, we regret that the decision making process did not meet our expectations and failed to adequately incorporate concerns raised by Member States. A truly inclusive and effective process require that all perspectives be taken into account to ensure broad and sustainable support. It is essential that decisions in this Forum are based on a strong material consensus. Without such consensus, the likelihood of Member States signing or implementing the outcome remains uncertain. Furthermore, we regret that the question of organizational structure has not been adequately addressed despite repeated calls for clarity on this issue. A transparent, well defined and functional structure is crucial to the legitimacy and operational success of the initiative. Nevertheless, Germany remains committed to actively and constructively engaging in the process. Moving forward, we will continue to advocate for a balanced and consensus driven approach that upholds the principles of transparency, inclusivity and effectiveness. We sincerely hope that the next step in this process will lead to an efficient and constructive outcome that serves the collective interests and strengthens the overall objectives of this initiatives towards shaping a fairer, more inclusive and effective global tax architecture. Chair [30:43]: Thank you, Distinguished delegate of Israel. Israel [30:48]: Mr. Chair, at the outset, my delegation would like to express its appreciation to you and the Bureau for your efforts in guiding this process. Throughout this week, we have carefully listened to the perspectives, aspirations and concerns of all groups and delegations. We deeply value these contributions and sincerely hope that our collective efforts on tax related matters within the UN framework will be grounded in trust, good faith and mutual understanding. While we remain committed to constructive engagement and to exploring viable solutions that address the needs of all Member States, we cannot support the proposed way forward regarding the decision making process. It is evident to us that any outcome lacking universal acceptance will ultimately hold little substantive value. Taxation is at the core of national sovereignty and by its nature cannot be subjected to the voting power of a majority. Furthermore, we firmly believe that an outcome without broad consensus is unlikely to succeed. For these reasons, my delegation does not endorse the report of this organizational session. This is not a matter of compromise or a lack of understanding. Rather, it is recognition that any process in this domain will be ineffective unless all Member States are fully on board. Additionally, we wish to express our disappointment appointment. The key organizational topics such as schedules, formulas and the structuring of working groups were not addressed as anticipated. Accordingly, Mr. Chair, my delegation formally dissociates itself from the report of this organizational session, particularly regarding its implications for the decision making process. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the principle that taxation is a sovereign matter and must be addressed through full consensus in multilateral platforms to ensure inclusivity and equitable participation for all Member states. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Speaker 23 [32:45]: Disting Delate of Switzerland Switzerland [32:50]: thank you, Mr. Chair. Chairman. The the distinguished delegates thank you for the opportunity to make some concluding remarks regarding the organizational session. We welcome the progress made during the session. We are particularly pleased that the Negotiating Committee could identify the topic for the Second Additional Protocol. In that respect, we thank the Secretariat for the explanations given on the different options and would like to put on the record that we support the choice of an additional protocol regarding prevention and resolution of tax decision disputes. A convention that should be effective will require robust mechanisms for the Solution of disputes. We observed that the Secretary's guidance has a broader understanding of the topic, but we suggest to place a primary focus on disputes related to the Framework Convention. Tax disputes between taxpayers and authorities should be dealt with by domestic law and disputes. Disputes between contracting States of international instruments should be dealt with according to the respective modalities bilaterally agreed in the concerned treaty. We also note that the important issue of decision making could finally be discussed and concluded. We strongly believe, like many others, that only broad based consensus can result in an outcome that is inclusive and meets the critical mass to become effective. While we welcome the search of compromise in that respect, we consider that today's decision falls short of the standard. We are therefore concerned about the future progress of this Committee. We fear that without broad buy in, there is a high risk that the outcome of this process will be a fragmented international tax architecture. We are looking forward to further contributing to these negotiations and to build on the work done in this organizational meeting. Thank you. Chair [34:49]: Thank you. Liechtenstein [34:57]: Dear Chair. The strengthening of international tax cooperation has been a long standing priority for Liechtenstein. We are committed to international collaboration to tackle the tax avoidance, ensuring a more transparent tax environment and strengthening the rule of law. Further, advancing these important issues remains crucial for achieving the sustainable development goals. We have all agreed to. As we have consistently pointed out in this process, a Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation with the declared objective of being inclusive and recognizing tax sovereignty, should require consensus based decisions as a basis for a stable global tax framework. We have therefore supported the proposal put forward by France and regret that this proposal could not find a majority. With regards to the proposal of the Chair, we recognize that it requires the Committee to exhaust every possible effort to reach consensus on all matters of substance. In the spirit of inclusivity and effectiveness, we express our sincere hope that consensus thus remains the rule rather than the exception in the upcoming negotiation process. Thank you very much. Chair [36:14]: Thank you. As I see no other request for the floor, so the Committee has just concluded this stage of its consideration of Agenda item three. The Committee will resume its consideration of Agenda Item 4, entitled Framework Convention Protocol 1 on Taxation of income derived from the provision of cross border services in an increasingly digitalized and globalized economy and Protocol two, the Committee has before it draft decision issued as document A AC298CRP5. Delegations wishing to make a statement in the explanation of vote before the vote on the proposal under this item are invited to do so now in one intervention after action on the proposals, there will be an opportunity for explanations of vote after the vote. I Remind delegations that the statements in explanation of vote are limited to five minutes. Ay Sinan. We will now take action on draft decision CRB 5, entitled Subject of Protocol 2. May I take it that the Committee wishes to adopt draft decision crb5? I hear no objection. It is so decided. Delegations wishing to make a statement in the explanation of vote after the vote are invited to do so now. In one intervention I I remind delegations that the statement in expression of vote are limited to five minutes. I see none. The Committee has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 4. The Committee will begin its consideration of Agenda Item 6, entitled Adoption of the report. The draft report of the organization session of the Committee has been issued AS Document A, AC298L1. I invite the Rapporteur to introduce the draft report. Rapporteur [39:01]: Thank you, Chair. First of all, of course I want to thank your Excellencies for electing me to this important role, and I will do my best to fulfill the responsibility as established under UN procedures. Thank you. It is now an honour for me to present to you the draft report of the organizational session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. In this regard, the Committee has before it document any AC298L1, which contains an account of the organizational session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. A list of the documents before the Committee was made available on the web page of the Committee at its first meeting on 3rd February 2025, the Committee adopted the provisional agenda for its sessions as contained in document A, AC 298 1. It also adopted its program of work as contained in document 8A, AC298, CRP1 for its sessions on the understanding that it may be revised to during the sessions as needed. The list of participants for the organizational session closed today. The final report will be finalized in accordance with the practice of the United nations and reflect the list of the delegations that delivered statements under each agenda item, as well as the decisions taken by the Committee at its organizational session with that chair. Mr. Chair, I recommend I commend this draft report to the Committee for its adoption. Thank you. Chair [41:07]: I thank the reporter. Delegations wishing to make a statement in the explanation of vote before the vote are invited to do so now. I remind delegations that the statements in explanation of vote are limited to five minutes. I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Poland. Poland · EU [41:31]: Thank you, Chair. Dear Chair. Distinguished delegates, I have the honor to Speak on behalf of the 27 EU member states at the outset. Let me thank other delegations for their concern. Constructive engagement in the Organizational session of the Intergovernmental negotiating committee. The 27 EU member states believe that what we observed in the last four days was in a spirit of the collaboration and growing mutual understanding, as well as compromise exercised by many delegations. We want to thank our partners for that. Likewise, the 27 EU member states have approached this session in good faith and with constructive attitude. As our shared objective is to promote the inclusivity and effectiveness of the international tax architecture as well as its stability, sanctity and coherence, we have managed to achieve progress in certain areas that this session was supposed to decide on. Among them, the Committee has managed to come to a consensual decision as to the topic of the Second Early Protocol to the Framework Convention. This was among our tasks, ladies and gentlemen, this was the organizational session. However, we are numerous critical organizational questions that have not been addressed or concluded. These elements were to guide our future work. For example, we still don't know when or where we are going to meet on the first substantive session. We do not know how the negotiations will be conducted. Will there be working groups? What will be the work stream? Can we expect impact assessment or scoping for the Protocols and the Convention? Will there be intercessional meetings? To what extent can we expect the Secretariat to provide substantive technical assistance? The 2017 seven EU member states have raised this and other questions and we also had our delegations, including from the African Group who voiced similar requests. In this context, we are compelled to remind that PBIS of resolutions 79235 I kept the Uncle Secretariat to be in position to provide Member States with substantive technical assistance. As of now, we are yet to see how our taxpayers resources have been utilized to this goal. The 27 EU member states also sought to improve the organizational arrangements by proposing concrete solutions to maximize the inclusive participation of other stakeholders in this process. We want to thank delegations for supporting us in this effort. The 27 EU member states will not cease to advocate full, inclusive and meaningful participation of all stakeholders. Distinguished delegates from this for this reason, I just stated that 27 EU member states would like to voice our dissatisfaction with the outcomes of this session. Unfortunately, our time, energy and resources have not been utilized efficiently. Some decisions or lack thereof have added to our uncertainty and to how this process will be conducted. Many of our questions have have gone unanswered. We would like to process and succeed, but we are missing some key element crucial for its success. Therefore, if it was not for the fact that the 27 EU member states want to exercise utmost flexibility and good faith in this process, we would have called this report for a vote. It is our hope, however, that together we can improve this process in the future and work together towards the best possible outcome. In the spirit of cooperation and partnership, leaving no one behind to make ourselves clear, I would like to request that our intervention from February 4, in which we asked multiple questions on the process, as well as this explanation of position, be reflected in the report from this session. Thank you very much. Chair [46:49]: Thank you, distinguished delegate of Colombia, followed by Canada. Colombia [46:59]: Gracias, Senor President. Thank you, Mr. Chair. My delegation's comment is just in terms of form and I would just like to register the fact that the name of the person that was elected as a member of the Bureau on behalf of my country is not correctly reflected in the report. And I would like to request for that to be modified and updated. Chair [47:26]: Thank you. Thank you, Delegate of Canada. Canada · CANZ [47:39]: Thank you, Mr. Chairperson. I have the honor to speak again on behalf of my colleagues from Australia, New Zealand, myself. We would like to thank. Thank all delegates for their engagement at the session and would like to express once again our appreciations for the open discussions that took place this week. As we stated earlier in this session, our views is that multilateral tax rules should be developed and adopted by wide consensus to ensure their broad adoption and application. In this context, we are disappointed that the outcome of this session does not meet the high expectations that our delegations have for this process. We will continue to press for negotiations that are truly inclusive, transparent and fair. We share the concerns that others have expressed regarding the lack of clarity and certainty as to how this Committee will be carrying out its work and our negotiations will will proceed in the coming session. We are pleased that the Committee adopted strong provisions for stakeholders engagement, but their valuable participation will only be facilitated if we are clear on how they can and how our countries can participate going forward. We have heard that these questions are of great importance to all of us and really unfortunate that the Committee did not address these questions. We look forward to hear the modalities that the Committee will be adopted for the continuation of this work at the earliest opportunity to enable us to be ready for the next steps. Thank you. Chair [49:38]: Thank you. I see no other request for the floor. May I take it that the Committee wishes to adopt the draft report and authorize the Rapporteur to finalize the report in conformity of with the practice of the United Nations? I hear no objection. It is so decided. The Committee has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 6. So the Committee has just concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 6. Does any delegation wish to make a final statement? I see none. So now, before moving to the closing notes, I just. I have a presentation that we need to go through. But before we go through this presentation about the organizational methods, I would like to make everyone clear about what's going behind the scenes. Actually, we started on Monday and this committee is a little bit different than the committee of the ad hoc Committee for terms of reference. Ahead of this Committee, there is a massive work that needs to be done, technical work and a lot of work streams that need to be working parallel. And we need to make sure that we're organizing ourselves and the work and utilizing the resources in the right way. This massive work required as well massive level of coordination, creativity in designing how our work can proceed, which as well required some time to be done. We just started last Monday and the Chair with the Secretariat keep working over the night to make sure that this is happening. We. In this presentation, we are going to show some of the ideas we explored about how the work can be carried forward. But in all cases, all of these will be presented to the Bureau who will do the job to finalize this structure or these ideas and form it in a working structure and process for the whole Committee and answer all the pending questions. So now I invite the criteria to have the presentation on the screen. Again before we go through it. I'm saying this is some ideas and thoughts how we can manage the work going forward for the upcoming three years. So, first slide please. So the intersectional work by the Inc Tax may be organized in this form. We are thinking to have three work streams. One work stream would be for the convention and it will be under this work stream we will have another four or maybe five task forces who will be working on different parts of the convention. The second work stream will be working on the first protocol and with maybe two task forces under it working on different parts of the protocol as relevant. The third work stream will be the same but for the second protocol and also may have a other task forces under it. So this is the general design of how things can work. Next slide, please. Each work stream will be led by two Vice chairs, one from the developed and one from the developing. The work streams and task forces will be open to all Member States to join and support with the technical work and stakeholders, engagement and inputs as well. Next slide. So within February and March, the Bureau will be tasked to finalize this roadmap, including the dates, develop the work stream guidelines and to decide about the Vice Chairs who will be on the head of each work stream. And also the same for the task forces. And all of this should be carried through. Virtual calls will be decided with the pro. The frequency of these calls as we go. So this is our high level thoughts about how things can go. And no one can deny that still a lot of questions need to be answered. And actually it's not a one man show for the Chair of Secretariat to decide about all of this as we decided that cooperation is the main concept of this Committee. So all of this will pass to the PRO who will be working on this to reach a proposal that will be after that presented to the Committee. For example, just to make sure the. Just to ensure everyone that Chair and Secretariat have many questions under their consideration, we still need to answer how the election of the Vice Chairs for the work streams will take place, the leaders of the task forces, how they will be elected, the composition of the task force member, the technical expertise of the Secretariat, how they will be involved and what how the support will be there. Documentation cycle timelines, the sprints for each of the task forces, how they will be working and we need to have timelines also deadlines for everyone. The communication with the PRO and through the PIRO and with the Member states, the public consultations that will take place at which state and in which phase. The list in front of me is very long. That remarks that we're going to present and we need to answer as we go with the pro. Again, I don't need to repeat myself. It's massive work. It requires some time with the PRO for everyone to think about it and will keep proposing different scenarios till we reach the scenarios that we believe. This will be the best design for the Committee to kick off its work. I hope what I presented clarified some of your inquiries and give you more transparency about how the process is going and how we are working on the organizational matters. I'm not saying that the presentation answered all your question about organizational matters, but I think it's good to know that we are working in this, that need to be organized well and the work is in progress on this area. So I see. Two requests from the floor from Canada and Columbia, please. I appreciate if there is like sort of feedback about the organization of work. It can come to me directly or to the Schaetariat as we will be working in it for the next two months, as I mentioned. And I appreciate Any feedback about this and any value additions to what we are working on now. So now I'm moving to my closing notes. So, as we bring this session of the Intergovernmental Committee to a close, I want to take a moment to reflect on the progress we have made together. Over the course of our discussions, we have set up an essential basis for our future work. While the road ahead may still present challenges, the foundation we are building is strong. Every step we take brings us closer to more equitable, transparent and effective global tax system, one that serves the needs for all nations and fosters sustainable development. I am deeply encouraged by the spirit of cooperation and the dedication shown by each of you. Your contributions have been invaluable, and I am confident that the work we are doing here will have a lasting impact. Let us leave this session with a renewed sense of purpose and determination. The challenges we face are significant, but so too is our collective resolve to overcome them. Together, we are shaping a future where fairness and cooperation prevail. Thank you for your hard work and your insights. I look forward to continue this journey with you as we move forward. So now we are going to move to the closing notes of the Secretariat. But before it, I would like to give the floor to distinguished delegate of Canada. The floor is yours. Canada [1:02:52]: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you so much for the presentation that we just received. And certainly thank you for your concluding remarks, which are leading us towards a path of. Towards a future Framework Convention and obviously Opsinal Protocol, where we hope we can all come together. We would like to seek clarification at this point. We appreciate that you indicated to my delegation that we can come to you on a bilateral basis to discuss the presentation that was just made. But you also made reference to transparency. And so we believe it is important for all delegation to better understand what are the next steps for discussing these suggestions. We are not aware that those suggestions were presented to the Bureau. We're not aware yet that we're surprised that the suggestions are presented after we adopted the report, not beforehand. So we would have an opportunity to discuss them. But we are in your hands. But we would certainly would welcome greater clarity on what's going to be the next step is going to be a discussion and how delegates and stakeholders will have an opportunity to comment on those proposals that you've put forward. Thank you. Speaker 37 [1:04:18]: It. Chair [1:05:01]: Distinguished Delegate of Colombia. Colombia [1:05:04]: Thank you, Chair. And this is just in reaction to the presentation you made. My delegation agrees that this is a quite heavy load of work and there is a lot to do in the buron And Colombia as a Vice Chair present there, we will be supporting your work going forward. Just an early recommendation will be down the line if it will be possible even within the Bureau to define some milestones in that process so that we can at some point inform or debrief the Committee on the evolution of that work. And I think there are many ways that we could find to do that, either through the Bureau members to regional groups or even considering at some point a general debrief for Committee to be informed. So just to indicate that we understand there is a lot of work to do, but it will be important down the line that we secure that whatever the Bureau presents to the membership is something that they will be progressively understanding. Thank you. Chair [1:06:30]: Thank you. We take. We took a note of your intervention and Canada and just a quick note that this proposal that we have, and as I said, it's not proposal, it's idea, it will go to the Pro. Then through the Pro, the Bureau will decide about it. So it will be negotiated first at the PRO level, then after that it will be either circulated or discussed at whatever. The Bureau will decide about it and communicate it through the Bureau. Then anyways, the whole roadmap would be decided and discussed through the Bureau. Anyway, we took notes of your interventions and at this point I. As we reach the end of this session, I would like to announce that the session is adjourned. Thank you all. So please all just one minute. We have some notes from Desa Cherry, please, the floor is yours. DESA · Secretariat [1:07:32]: Thank you all so much. And also on behalf of our Under Secretary General Xinwa Lee, I want to thank you all for really this incredible work this past week and for the spirit of compromise that everybody showed this past week. I also want to just ensure you all that the Secretariat is here to support you in all ways in a very transparent process.