WTO members welcomed Tajikistan’s commendable efforts towards membership. They appreciated the progress made in reforming its trade regime in order to be compatible with WTO rules.

While reviewing the first version of the draft Working Party Report, members identified areas that still required further work including antidumping, trading rights, investment regime, import licensing, rules of origin, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, intellectual property rights, and services.

Tajikistan’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Farrukh Hamraliev, said that Tajikistan has reached an important stage in its WTO membership negotiations. He stated that his government remained committed to integrating the world economy and the WTO. He said that Tajikistan has transformed its economy and undertaken major institutional and structural reforms, as well as improved its finance and banking system. He added that Tajikistan was trading with 90 different countries and that it was time for his country to become a WTO member.

On market access negotiations for goods and services, Tajikistan and members reported good progress.  Negotiations are on-going with 17 interested members. The Working Party Chair, Estonian Ambassador Clyde Kull, encouraged Tajikistan to step up its efforts in concluding the on-going bilateral market access negotiations.

Next steps: On the basis of the current discussions and new inputs from members and Tajikistan, the draft Working Party Report will be updated. The revised text will be considered at the next meeting of the Woking Party. The date of the next meeting will be set when all necessary inputs become available.

Some information about Tajikistan’s accession negotiations:

• Working Party Chair: Ambassador Clyde Kull (Estonia)
• Last Working Party meeting: On 24 November 2010
• 1st version of Working Party report:  1 June 2011
• Working Party established on 18 July 2001

Application received on 29 May 2001