Tajikistan Officially Joins the World Trade Organization

2012-taj-joins-wto

The Republic of Tajikistan was officially admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) at a session held in Geneva on 10 December 2012. The General Council approved Tajikistan’s accession package, paving the way for the country’s WTO membership. Tajikistan will have to ratify the deal by 7 June 2013 and will become the 159th WTO member 30 days after the ratification.

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon signed three documents, together with WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy:

  • the protocol on Tajikistan’s admission to the international organization,
  • the decision of the WTO General Council on approving Tajikistan’s accession, and
  • the report of the working group on Tajikistan’s accession.

President Rahmon was accompanied by the First Deputy Prime Minister Matlubkhon Davlatov and the President’s State Adviser on Foreign Policy Erkin Rahmatulloev. The Tajik delegation also included the Minister of Economic Development and Trade Rahimzoda Sharif; the Head of the Committee on Energy, Industry, Construction and Communication of Majlisi Namoyandagon Amir Kataev; and other officials.

WTO Director-General Lamy said that for a small and landlocked country Tajikistan’s membership to the WTO “is a road leading to the world economy.” And the accession is another step for the WTO “towards universality and a sign of confidence in the values and benefits of the multilateral trading system.”

President Rahmon declared the WTO accession a landmark in Tajikistan’s history, laying solid foundations for further promotion of sustainable social and economic growth. “Applying for WTO membership 11 years ago was the right step forward for Tajikistan as it transforms itself into a market economy. Tajikistan will use its WTO membership as a means of fostering future economic growth and prosperity.”

Representatives of Bangladesh, the People’s Republic of China, Dominican Republic, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Kyrgyz Republic, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States congratulated the Tajik delegation for completing Tajikistan’s accession process.

Tajikistan becomes the fifth WTO member of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program, together with the People’s Republic of China (became a member in 2001), the Kyrgyz Republic (in 1998), Mongolia (in 1997), and Pakistan (in 1995). Helping its member countries achieve WTO membership is one of the three goals of CAREC’s Trade Policy Strategic Action Plan. Other goals of this strategic action plan are to increase trade openness to stimulate stronger growth and development and to build capacity in the area of trade and trade policy.