The Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies think-tank under the President, Sanjar Valiev believes that it is necessary to accelerate the process of the Uzbekistan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“The WTO trade barriers are minimal to as much as this is possible. A fast-track WTO accession is crucial for Uzbekistan if we want to expand trade with far-away partners,” he added.
According to him, Uzbekistan has already completed the preparatory steps for joining the WTO.
“In July, at the WTO headquarters, we handed over an updated memorandum on Uzbekistan’s foreign trade regime, which signified the official start of negotiations on accession to the WTO. Technically that was actually the resumption of negotiations, as we had made efforts in the early 2000s, but then the conditions did not allow us to complete this process,” he noted.
The resumption of the process of Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO was identified by Shavkat Mirziyoyev as one of the key areas of the country's trade and economic development priority. Uzbekistan applied to join the WTO in 1994. Now, Uzbekistan holds an observer state status.
