DUSHANBE, December 11, 2012, Asia-Plus – The European Commission fully supports the decision by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to pave the way for the accession of Tajikistan, press release issued by the European Union Delegation to Tajikistan said.
Once the whole accession procedure is completed, Tajikistan will become the 159th member of the global trade forum.
“The EU is very pleased to welcome Tajikistan as a new member of the WTO family,” said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. “I firmly believe that Tajikistan’s accession will serve as a major engine for Central Asia’s economic development.”
After Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan is the second Central Asian country to join the WTO.
By supporting the country’s economic diversification, the EU has taken the lead in accompanying Tajikistan during its accession process, press release said, noting that in the future the EU will continue to promote and boost trading and investment relations with Tajikistan and ensure its fully-fledged integration into the multilateral trade system.
“In line with the decision of the WTO General Council, Tajikistan will have to ratify its accession package by 7 June 2013. It will become a fully-fledged member of the WTO 30 days after the ratification date.
“Since its request for accession in May 2001, Tajikistan has committed to fully comply with the WTO provisions without recurring to any transitional periods. In compliance with the accession package, Tajikistan has undertaken a broad range of commitments to open up its trade regime and speed up its integration in the world trade system, including six bilateral agreements on market access for services and 13 on market access for goods.”
