Turkmenistan Applies to Join WTO

Turkmenistan officially submitted an application to join the World Trade Organization, the WTO said Nov. 24. The Central Asian country requested that the application be considered at the upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference, to be held Nov. 30-Dec. 3. Atageldi Haljanov, Turkmenistan's ambassador to the United Nations, after meeting with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that the decision was backed by his country's president and "driven by Turkmenistan's strong desire to integrate into world trade and diversify its economy through WTO accession." The country set up a commission in 2013 to study the effects of WTO membership. Turkmenistan would be the last former Soviet republic to join the WTO. The release said Turkmenistan's natural resources include oil and natural gas.