The meeting took place in hybrid form, with the delegation of Sudan connecting from the capital, Khartoum, and the working party chair, Mr Katsuro Nagai (Japan), and WTO members from WTO headquarters. The Sudanese delegation was led by H.E Ali Giddo Adam Bashr, Minister of Trade and Supply and Chief Negotiator for WTO Accession.

Following an informal meeting of the working party on 17 March, Sudan's transitional government provided members with many documents needed for the full resumption of the accession process. These include revised market access offers in both goods and services, a revised Legislative Action Plan as well as texts of seven new laws for the improvement of the trading and investment environment, and draft legislation for the protection of intellectual property rights. The WTO Secretariat also prepared a revised factual summary reflecting changes to Sudan's trade regime since 2019.

In addition, Sudan has concluded market access agreements with six members to date and is currently engaging with other members to advance and conclude the remaining negotiations.

Minister Bashr noted: “The transitional government has placed economic reform as one of its priorities and WTO accession is one of the vehicles to drive this agenda through Sudan's integration into the global economy. Sudan has already embarked on serious reforms despite the impact of the pandemic which exacerbated economic hardship, causing a loss of 40% of public revenue.”

“Among these painful reforms was the removal of the costly subsidies on energy, intended to meet the requirement of a strong track record of macroeconomic performance to reach the decision point for debt relief.”  

Minister Bashr said that the Sudanese delegation to the working party meeting, consisting of senior government officials and experts from a range of ministries and government agencies, were engaged in continuous preparations for the meeting and “have demonstrated Sudan's renewed commitment to reactivate its accession process to the WTO”. His full statement is available here.

WTO Deputy Director-General Zhang Xiangchen noted that “Sudan is currently going through a period of drastic transformation under the leadership of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok despite their challenging circumstances with multiple crises that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. What Sudan and its people, especially the youth and women, have demonstrated is resilience, hope and opportunities. I see today's relaunch of the accession process as an integral part of Sudan's transformation journey — that is, Sudan being integrated into the global economy.”     

The working party chair said that the discussions at the meeting were “useful and productive (and) conducted in a positive spirit”.

“In reviewing Sudan's economic and trade regime, we have learned a number of changes which have been introduced by the transitional government,” Mr Nagai said. “It has been particularly helpful in identifying the areas where further work and specific actions are necessary to be taken by Khartoum.”         

“Sudan has sent a clear message that WTO accession is now the driver of its ambitious economic reforms and provides a path for its integration into the global economy,” the chair continued. “Members have unanimously welcomed the formal resumption of Sudan's accession and have pledged full support to Sudan's efforts, including through the provision of technical assistance.”

The meeting was the fifth of the working party on Sudan and the first since 2017 when talks had restarted after 13 years of impasse.

In terms of next steps, the chair said the WTO Secretariat will prepare elements of a draft working party report, with members invited to submit questions and comments in writing to the Secretariat by 23 August. Sudan will also submit an updated version of the questionnaire on state trade enterprises and of the checklist on the implementation of the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), a further revised Legislative Action Plan, and other supporting documents requested by the working party for consideration at its next meeting.

Sudan was also encouraged to intensify and advance bilateral negotiations with WTO members on market access, with a view to finalisation as soon as possible.

Concerning the timing of the next working party meeting, the chair said it will depend on the availability of the required inputs and on progress on the market access front but, given the transitional government's target to advance the accession process during its mandate until 2023, members could aim at holding the sixth working party meeting early next year. 

The chair asked members to recall that Sudan is a least developed country and that members should keep in mind the 2002 LDC Accession Guidelines and the 2012 General Council Decision to strengthen, streamline and operationalize the 2002 Guidelines.  Minister Bashr also noted the 2002 Guidelines and 2012 addendum to highlight the importance of timely provision of technical assistance in order to facilitate and accelerate its accession process.

Background

Any state or customs territory having full autonomy in the conduct of its trade policies may become a member the WTO, but all WTO members must agree on the terms. This is done through the establishment of a working party of WTO members and through a process of negotiations.

Following the establishment of a working party, bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral negotiations take place in parallel. The successful conclusion of these negotiations leads to the drafting of an accession package, which needs to be adopted by the accession working party and approved by the WTO's General Council or Ministerial Conference.

Sudan's working party was established on 25 October 1994.