Uzbekistan on the way to the World Trade Organization accession

November 4,2021

Ahead of the 5th Working Group meeting on the accession of Uzbekistan to the World Trade Organization (WTO) scheduled for December 2021, on 26 October, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov held a meeting with Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Xiangchen Zhang.

During the meeting, the current state of the negotiation process on Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO, as well as further steps for cooperation in this area were discussed.

Xiangchen Zhang expressed high appreciation for the efforts of Uzbekistan’s leadership to intensify the country’s accession to the WTO. He further noted that, thanks to measures initiated by the Uzbek side, cooperation with the Organization has become dynamic and intensive. WTO Deputy Director-General also emphasized that Uzbekistan is the first country he has visited since taking up a new position in August of this year.

For Uzbekistan, WTO accession is a priority aimed at further integration of the country into the multilateral trading system.

It was emphasized that the country’s Government is committed to continuing the implementation of measures to liberalize trade nad modernization of the foreign trade reform systems based on the principles and rules of the WTO agreements, encouraging foreign investment, and introducing the best global practices to provide sustainable economic growth.

Moreover on 27 October 2021, UNDP jointly the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan and with the WTO Secretariat organized two roundtables with representatives of business communities, government bodies and research institutes, during which participants discussed the current state of Uzbekistan’s accession process to the WTO and the impact of accession on private sector development, as well as examined the main advantages and benefits of membership.

More than 50 representatives of ministries and agencies, industry associations and private businesses participated in the roundtable. They listened to the presentations and speeches of Mr. Xiangchen Zhang, Deputy Director-General of WTO, Ms. Maika Oshikawa, WTO Accessions Division Director, Mr. Badriddin Abidov, Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade - Head of Working Group on WTO accession of Uzbekistan, Mr. Fariskhon Usmanov, Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan.

"Practice shows that the private sector plays an important role in the process of countries’ accession to WTO, as the government needs to establish close interaction and hear the voice and opinion of business. Conducting roundtables and meetings promotes a close dialogue between the private sector and the government on WTO accession, increases knowledge and understanding by all parties of the implications of WTO membership, its opportunities and challenges," said Mr. Xiangchen Zhang.

Ms. Matilda Dimovska, UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan, noted the importance of regular dialogue between the Government of Uzbekistan, the private sector and academia in the country’s accession process to the WTO. "The business community and research institutes have a significant role in the accession process of Uzbekistan to the WTO. Given the possible impact of WTO accession commitments on the activities of national suppliers of goods and services, WTO accession countries need to take into account their interests in the negotiation processes with WTO member countries" - she said.

For the past three years, UNDP has been actively supporting the government in a preparation of key WTO accession documents, building capacity of government officials in trade policy formulation and implementation related to the WTO accession as well as in elaboration of the research papers on impact of WTO accession to various sectors of the economy. For instance, research was conducted on the impact on electrical and automotive industries, and the analyses of the implication for the textile and food industries in a preparation.

Ms. Maika Oshikawa, WTO Accessions Division Director, shared the process, results and best practices in WTO accession, highlighted the tangible results of large-scale reforms in Uzbekistan and expressed the readiness to fully support Uzbekistan in the accession process and intensify joint work to promptly address common challenges.

Recall that Uzbekistan received observer status in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in June 1994, in 1998 a working group was established to negotiate the country’s accession to the WTO. In July 2020, the country’s authorities, the WTO and representatives of a number of countries held the fourth meeting after a break of almost 15 years.

The UNDP trade development activities are carried out in accordance with the Action Strategy for Uzbekistan Development 2017-2021, with focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN Member States.

The ‘Aid for Trade in Uzbekistan’ project is aimed to support Uzbekistan’s WTO accession process, developing trade, building productive and export capacities for niche products in employment-rich and potentially green sectors to contribute to more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable growth patterns.

The project is funded by the Government of the Russian Federation and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan.

Source: Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Tehran