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Dr. Supachai welcomed the conclusion of FYR of Macedonia’s
negotiations which started in December 1994, and said he was looking
forward to the Republic becoming a full and active Member of the
Organization.
“FYR
of Macedonia’s forthcoming accession to the WTO is an important
event”, the Director-General said. “It commits a young and
economically reforming country to the multilateral trading system
while creating a more predictable environment for business, trade and
investment. This accession also represents another step in making the
WTO and its rules truly universal”.
At
the signing ceremony, Mr. Fetai, Minister of Economy and National
Coordinator for the Accession, was also accompanied by the Deputy
Prime Minister, Zoran Krstevski, Finance Minister, Nikola Gruevski,
and Agriculture Minister, Marjan Gjeorcev.
The
Protocol of Accession is now subject to the ratification of the FYR of
Macedonia’s Parliament. Thirty days after the Secretariat receives
official notification of this ratification, the country will become a
Member of the WTO.
World
merchandise trade of the FYR of Macedonia amounted to US$2.8 billion
in 2001 of which US$1.17 billion were exports and US$1.63 billion were
imports. In the year 2000, FYR of Macedonia had a total trade in
services of US$631 million of which US$281 million were exports and
US$350 million imports.
There
are now 26 countries in negotiations for accession to the WTO :
Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan,
Bosnia Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Kazakstan, Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Nepal, Russian Federation, Samoa, Saudi
Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tonga, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,
Viet Nam, Yemen and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
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The
General Council today approved the accession of the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia to the World Trade Organization. After the
Council's decision, Minister of Economy, Besnik Fetai, in a ceremony
attended by WTO Director-General, Supachai Panitchpakdi, signed the
Protocol of Accession to formally complete the negotiating process.