ZIMBABWE - The ARIPO Administrative Council is composed of heads of offices responsible for industrial property and copyright in the Member States. The Administrative Council has subsidiary Committees in place to administer the affairs of ARIPO. These are; Finance, Audit, Staff Affairs and Technical Committees according to the official website of ARIPO.

Namibia through the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA), the national agency for intellectual property rights, will host the 42nd Session of the ARIPO Administrative Council, set to deliberate and discuss the administrative aspects of ARIPO including the proposed budget and program of activities for the calendar year. It also looks at recommendations from the subsidiary committees and recommends amendments to the various ARIPO treaties to continually keep them responsive to the development needs of member states and customer requirements. The ARIPO Secretariat also gives an account and update of activities embarked on during the year as mandated by the Council. The council meeting is held annually, while every second year, it is combined with the Council of Ministers meeting.

Currently, there are 19 participating member states of ARIPO which include Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Kingdom of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In addition to the 19 member states, a number observer states will also attend this session. ARIPO cooperative partners which include the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Organization Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI) are also expected to participate at the administrative council meeting.

During the Administrative Council, some of ARIPO's partners take advantage of the gatherings to hold concurrent meetings. This year the meeting will have the Japan Patent's Office (JPO) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). The JPO will celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the Japan Funds in Trust for Africa administered by WIPO. To celebrate the 10 year anniversary, BIPA in collaboration with ARIPO, JPO, and WIPO will hold a high-level panel discussion on innovation and intellectual property; which will be concluded with a gala dinner. UPOV will have a seminar where they will sensitize participants on UPOV system for the protection of plant varieties. Chairing the UPOV Conference will be the Chairperson of the ARIPO Council of Ministers and Malawi Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Samuel Tembenu.

The 42 Session of the Administrative Council will be officially opened on 19 November 2018 at 09:00 by the Namibian Minister of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development, Hon. Tjekero Tweya.