DUSHANBE, August 29, 2011, Asia-Plus — Mr. Jovan Jekic, deputy regional director of the USAID Regional Trade Liberalization and Customs Project (RTLC) also chief consultant for WTO accession issues, considers that to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) Tajikistan has to carry out cardinal economic reforms.
“There are many questions regarding sanitary norms, but efforts are now taken to bring them into compliance with the WTO norms,” Mr. Jekic noted at a roundtable entitled “Tajikistan’s joining WTO” that took place in the Tajik capital at the end of last week.
According to him, becoming member of the WTO, the country will get an opportunity to influence formation rules of world trade in accordance with its national interests.
“After joining the WTO, Tajikistan as country with transition economy will be recognized as developing country that will give it an opportunity to use certain benefits,” he noted.
Ms. Larisa Kislyakova, deputy chairperson of Tajikistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), noted that joining the World Trade Organization was one of priorities of the national foreign economic policy. “The Government of Tajikistan expressed readiness to bring the country’s legislation into compliance with the WTO rules,” she noted.
Anvar Ibrohimov, an official with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) of Tajikistan, noted that they would have to carry out a certain work on harmonization of terms of accession to the WTO. He stressed that joining the WTO was strategically profitable for Tajikistan. Tajikistan is continuing its WTO membership negotiations and Tajikistan has reached an important stage in its WTO membership negotiations,” Ibrohimov noted.
We will recall that the sixth meeting of the Working Party on the accession of Tajikistan to WTO took place on July 5, 2011, and WTO Members reviewed reforms undertaken by Tajikistan to its trade regime and evaluated the progress made on the bilateral market access negotiations for goods and services. WTO members welcomed Tajikistan’s commendable efforts towards membership. They appreciated the progress made in reforming its trade regime in order to be compatible with WTO rules. While reviewing the first version of the draft Working Party Report, members identified areas that still required further work including antidumping, trading rights, investment regime, import licensing, rules of origin, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, intellectual property rights, and services. On market access negotiations for goods and services, Tajikistan and members reported good progress. Negotiations are on-going with 17 interested members. The Working Party Chair, Estonian Ambassador Clyde Kull, encouraged Tajikistan to step up its efforts in concluding the on-going bilateral market access negotiations.
The Working Party on the accession of Tajikistan was established by the General Council on July 18, 2001.
