Belarus makes headway in negotiations on WTO accession - MFA


Belarus has made headway in the negotiation process on the accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dzmitry Mironchyk told journalists on Thursday.

A Belarusian delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Yeudachenka took part in the 11th WTO ministerial conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“Belarus signed the protocols to complete bilateral negotiations on market access for goods with El Salvador and Guatemala. Thus, the total number of protocols that Belarus signed with WTO member states now totals 16, six of them were inked in 2017,” Dzmitry Mironchyk said.

Mr Yeudachenka confirmed Belarus’ commitment to becoming a full-fledged WTO member at the plenary session of the ministerial conference.

“It was noted that Belarus plays an important role in international trade liberalization as a EAEU member. The country signs preferential trade agreements with third countries. Heads of several delegations, including Russia, Moldova, and Vietnam expressed support for Belarus’ WTO membership at the conference,” the spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed.

The Belarusian delegation also met with WTO Deputy Director General Alan Wolff and members of the WTO Secretariat on the sidelines of the conference. They mapped out further steps in the negotiation process on Belarus’ WTO accession.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. Belarus’ Working Party on the accession to WTO was established on 27 October 1993.

Belsat.eu, via BelTA

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