Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 8 / Trend, A. Akhundov /
The next round of bilateral negotiations on Azerbaijan's joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) may be held in the first half of 2013, head of the negotiating group on Azerbaijan's joining WTO, Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev told Trend on Tuesday.
Azerbaijan started negotiations in 2004.
Today, Azerbaijan is in the process of bilateral negotiations with the U.S., Japan, Brazil, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, the European Union, Norway, India, South Korea, the Taiwanese Province of China, Canada, Switzerland and Honduras.
Negotiations have been completed and protocols were signed with Turkey, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. The protocols will be signed with Moldova and China.
The member-states of multilateral negotiations on Azerbaijan's joining the WTO must submit new proposals to the secretariat of the organization until Jan. 25.
"We expect to receive proposals from the Secretariat within 1-2 weeks," he said. "We individually received questions from the European Union and Chinese Taipei (Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu). These issues are related to our trade regime."
The Azerbaijani delegation took part in bilateral and multilateral negotiations in Geneva in late 2012. Azerbaijan's updated proposals on goods and services, issues of domestic support for agriculture and the trading system of the country were discussed during the talks.
The date of the next ninth round of talks has not been determined yet.
"The next working meeting may be held in July," he added. "If we fail to do this, then we will hold it in September. I do not think that it will be possible to hold the next round in the first half of the year."
Azerbaijan's WTO working group was established on July 16, 1997. Since 1997, Azerbaijan has been represented as an observer at the World Trade Organization.