Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 20 / Trend . N.Ismayilova /
The sixth round of negotiations between Azerbaijan and World Trade Organization (WTO) working group will be held in the end of first half year, head of the working group and Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev said on Feb. 20.
"If we have time to prepare new proposals, I think the next meeting of the working group will be held in the first half of this year, Mammadguliev said.
The quality of issues that were addressed to Azerbaijan has been improved since the latest meeting, and WTO expects to hear a quick and comprehensive response.
"We have already received issues and I hope that the authorized ministries should accelerate to developing them," the deputy minister said.
WTO lays out requirements before Azerbaijan to further liberalization of trade regime. But Mammadguliyev said that country's foreign trade regime has already liberalized.
"WTO participating States demand further liberalization of customs tariffs despite they do not exceed 15 percent in Azerbaijan. Our strategy is to prevent any damage on our economic development interests," Mammadguliyev said.
WTO participating States demand from Azerbaijan to reduce tariffs and taxes in certain spheres and continue insisting on liberalization of Azerbaijan's trade regime and market services. The demands are to transfer to banking market through opening direct subsidiaries and insurance market of the country, including creation of daughter companies with 100 percent foreign capital.
Since 1997 Azerbaijan is observer in the WTO. Under the estimations of the Central-Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) the member countries of the program will enter WTO until 2013.
Three CAREC countries-China, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia are members of WTO.
On Feb. 20, the official exchange rate is 0.8062 manat to $1.
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