Baku, Azerbaijan, June 29
By Anakhanum Idayatova – Trend:
The next meeting on Azerbaijan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), to be held July 19-23 in Geneva, is of great interest for the organization’s member states, Chiedu Osakwe, director of the WTO Accessions Division, said in an exclusive interview with Trend June 29.
Azerbaijan is an important country in the region with the largest economy, which is very attractive for the WTO member states, he said.
Osakwe noted that the Geneva talks will focus on the changes in Azerbaijan’s economy, the reforms carried out by the country in various spheres, especially, in the sphere of agriculture.
It is planned to hold meetings with representatives of WTO member states, he said, adding that the Azerbaijani side will answer the questions that were presented during the previous meeting in 2015.
Osakwe pointed out that the meeting participants will inquire about how Azerbaijan upholds its economy with low oil prices and whether Baku has a strategic plan for the economic development in such a situation.
Commenting on the possible time of Azerbaijan’s accession to the WTO, he noted that the process is very unique and much depends on the country’s government.
It is difficult to say how much time will be needed for Azerbaijan’s accession to WTO, he said, adding that the talks started in 2004.
For instance, the talks on Kazakhstan’s WTO membership took 19 years, China became the organization’s member after 15 years, while Russia’s WTO accession process took 18 years, said Osakwe.
Earlier, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev told Trend that it is planned to hold meetings with the WTO working group, as well as hold multilateral talks on agriculture and bilateral talks with the organization’s member states in July.
To date, Norway, Russia and Saudi Arabia have expressed intention to hold bilateral talks with Azerbaijan on the issue, but it is not ruled out that the number of such countries will increase, said the deputy foreign minister.
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