ISLAMABAD, Feb 11: Strong and effective Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) laws did not offer any assurance for attracting foreign investment in the developing countries.

This was the consensus of majority of speakers at a training workshop on 'Understanding WTO Instruments: Business Implications for Saarc'. It was organized by the Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with Aus AID here on Friday.

The speakers observed that implementation of TRIPS was not necessary to attract investment but in future it would be a major factor in attracting foreign investment in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief in the WTO wing of Ministry of Commerce M. Anwar Khan said foreign investment would hardly come in those sectors where there was a fear of imitation and counterfeit products. However, he said there was a good linkage between investment and good patent system.

The speaker elaborated that developed countries had compelled developing countries to become part of the TRIPS agreement. He said even those countries had joined TRIPS agreement which even did not have the innovative facility to protect their inventions etc.

Unlike the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) conventions on patents and trademarks, under the WTO agreement, member countries would attract sanctions under the TRIPS agreement in case the member countries did not comply with all clauses of the agreement.

Mr Khan said there was a need for greater awareness about the TRIPS agreement in developing countries particularly in Pakistan. He also urged for further simplification of the procedures for granting of patents to products.

The Indian speaker, Madhurendra Nath Jha, said the 10 top pharmaceutical manufacturers in India were pushing for implementation of an effective patent system to protect their products.

He was of the opinion that there should be great awareness about the TRIPS agreement among stakeholders to make them aware about the important of the system. However, he admitted that there were lengthy procedures involved in granting of patent to the products. A Bangladeshi parliamentarian, Abu Hena, said there should be a separate law for countering counterfeit products to provide protection to investors.