BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 12. Opening the market to all the world members of WTO will increase competition, said President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in an interview with CGTN (China Global Television Network) in Davos on January 20, Trend reports.
The interview with the head of state was broadcast on the channel on February 11.
"We are still not a member of the World Trade Organization, although we have been in an active phase of negotiations for many years - I would say for at least a couple of decades. The reason why this process did not come to its logical conclusion is exactly what you said. Protectionism, double standards, tariffs – all of these disrupt the core values of the World Trade Organization. We see that countries can apply tariffs and use protectionist mechanisms in order to protect their markets, which absolutely contradict the principles of WTO.
Therefore, we are in the process of negotiations. But at the same time, we are seriously evaluating the advantages and disadvantages. One of those concerns is exactly what we just discussed. Another one is that our industry and our export potential must be well-prepared for that. Because, so far, a main part of our exports is fossil fuel, and for that, we don't need to be member of WTO; you sell your commodities on the market.
So, opening the market to all the world members of WTO will increase competition. But at the same time, may damage the interests of local producers. Therefore, we are balancing this process and trying to get maximum conditions, positive conditions, while we will be in the future negotiation process. As I already said, Azerbaijan's economy is self-sufficient. We have one of the lowest rates of foreign debt vis-à-vis GDP. Our hard currency reserves exceed our foreign debt by 14 times. We are not in need of any additional benefits, actually. We don't want to lose what we have. At the same time, we will see if all our proposals with respect to accession - whether on the bilateral track with countries’ negotiation process or with the organization in general - if they are met, then I think the process will go more smoothly," said President Ilham Aliyev.