Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend I.Khalilova / In regards for entrance into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Government of Azerbaijan held bilateral talks with the USA, Japan, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and other several countries in Geneva, stated the Head of the negotiation group, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Mahmud Mammadguliyev .
Of them, an agreement was reached only with the UAE to sign protocol on the completion of the talks, however the negotiations will continue amongst the remaining WTO member-countries.
"Mainly the consultations were held on services and tariffs. However a compromise has not yet been found regarding separate issues, especially liberalization of the service markets," Mammadguliyev stated.
Previously, the USA had questions regarding the trade market and whether Azerbaijan intended to make amendments to the legislation to provide an opportunity for the implementation of each operation with land (purchase-sale). In addition, the USA requires the avoidance of limitations in the market of architectural projecting and construction companies, especially in the access of the foreign partners (engineering-technical workers) to these markets. Presently the Azerbaijani legislation contains quotas for the entry of the foreign specialists. The USA desires these conditions to be equal and not limited by the law.
The European Union and the USA are key partners in the talks on entrance to the WTO and many aspects depend on reaching an agreement with them.
The talks with the EU took place in May 2007. The position of the USA and EU is that for entrance to the WTO, Azerbaijan should undertake obligations on customs tariffs. In addition, they are interested in the intellectual property rights, avoidance of limitations for opening of direct bank branches in Azerbaijan. Presently the talks have been fully completed with Oman, Georgia, Moldova and Turkey. They have accepted Azerbaijan's proposals and agreed to sign a protocol. Mammadguliyev stated that a protocol has already been signed with Turkey and is at the stage of processing with the remaining countries.