Uzbekistan restarting negotiations with WTO

Press-service of Ministry of investments and Foreign trade (MIFT) announced that Uzbekistan is starting (or will start again) negotiations about access to World Trade Organization (WTO). . 

Preparing for negotiation were discussed under direction of deputy Minister of MIFT Sardor Umurzakov at IV meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission for Work with the WTO. It was attended by members of Negotiating Group on entry of Uzbekistan in WTO. 

Coming negotiations are going to be in «hybrid» format, where diplomacy missions of foreign countries in Geneva will attend in session room and communicate through video conference with Uzbekistan delegation. 

Uzbekistan’s Development Strategy for 2017-2021 mentioned the renewal of accession process to WTO . An Interdepartmental Commission for WTO working was established in February 2020. First negotiations about entering should have started in end of March or April. However, it stopped due to pandemic. 

Let us remind, that in 1994 Uzbekistan got observer status in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In 1998, the republic created a working group for WTO negotiation . In the following years, the group gathered just three times. The last meeting was held in October 2005. 

The renewal of Uzbekistan accession process to WTO became known in 2017, during the visit of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to South Korea in November 2017.

According to the Ministry of foreign affairs, as a developing country Uzbekistan expects to get a range of benefits from WTO membership,.