WTO DG Meets With Uzbek President to Talk WTO Accession

World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala met with the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on June 5-6 to discuss the nation's accession to the WTO, the trade body said.

Okonjo-Iweala noted Uzbekistan's commitment to the accession process, citing a presidential decree issued by the nation which discusses various areas where WTO members have concerns. Those areas include "state-trading enterprises with exclusive rights, export restrictions, the import ban on ethyl alcohol, and export subsidies," the WTO said.

While it's been 30 years since Uzbekistan applied to join the WTO, the DG said that negotiations have ramped up over the past 12-18 months. Okonjo-Iweala said that accession will require "strong political will, an effective inter-ministerial coordination mechanism, a hard-working negotiating team led by a competent Chief Negotiator, support from partners, and an accession roadmap with time-bound actions." The first four components are present, though no current "government-wide roadmap" exists that Uzbekistan can use to achieve consistency with WTO rules for each measure prior to 2026.