Baku, Azerbaijan, June 19
By Emin Aliyev - Trend:
Azerbaijani agricultural producers should pay attention to the Arab markets, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, chief negotiator for Azerbaijan's accession to the World Trade Organization Mahmud Mammadguliyev said.
"The WTO is an easy access to the markets of other countries included in it. At the same time, if we accept all the conditions put forward before us, the process of diversification of the economy may suffer, it is necessary to confess - because the domestic market will be opened and other WTO member-countries will definitely take advantage of this. There are other problems while entry, in the field of agriculture - in particular are those related to subsidies and bilateral negotiations on imports of certain agricultural products. We want to protect local producers, and our partners insist on reducing existing tariffs for these products," the deputy FM said.
It is naturally that Azerbaijan produces enough agricultural products of good quality, but it is needed to choose the right markets, according to Mammadguliyev.
"By joining the WTO, the country will get easy access to new markets. At the same time, if the proposed products to these markets do not meet certain requirements, they will not be allowed there. Certainly, in the case of discrimination against Azerbaijani goods, it will be possible to use the WTO's special mechanisms for removing them. At the same time, we need to think not only of European markets, but to pay attention to new directions, for example, Arab markets. These countries are very interested in the development of cooperation in agriculture, as they almost have no suitable land: up to 90-95 percent of consumed agricultural products in the Arab countries is imported. The situation is quite different in Europe, and it will be much harder for Azerbaijani producers to find a niche in the European market, "he said.
Regarding Arab markets, relevant negotiations are already underway, and there is an interest, Mammadguliyev added.
"But I think that these processes should be accelerated, because there are other countries, willing to export their products to the region. For example, Qatar has an agreement with Italy, in accordance with which Arab country also invests in Italy`s agriculture, receiving products. Italy also receives both necessary investment and market for local producers and products. Azerbaijan should also think about this way of doing things and should maybe even apply appropriate practice, "the deputy minister said..
Azerbaijan has been represented at the WTO as an observer since 1997 and began negotiating on its accession in 2004.
Currently, Azerbaijan is in the process of bilateral negotiations with the U.S., Japan, Brazil, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, European Union, Norway, India, South Korea, Taiwan Province of China, Canada, Switzerland and Honduras to join the WTO.
Talks have been completed and protocols signed with Turkey, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. The country is at the stage of signing the protocol with Moldova, which still considers the document.
Recent bilateral negotiations with the United States, Canada, Norway, Japan and other countries for goods and services, and multilateral negotiations on domestic support to Azerbaijan`s agriculture took place in Geneva in February 2014.
The next week-long round of bilateral negotiations with WTO members will begin June 30, and multilateral negotiations on agriculture are scheduled for autumn.
Edited by CN