The visit began with a meeting between Minister Kassahun Gofe Balami and WTO Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang on 5 December 2024. Minister Kassahun Gofe Balami reaffirmed Ethiopia's strong commitment to restarting and accelerating its WTO accession, underscoring recent progress in Ethiopia's domestic economic reforms. He further expressed gratitude for the technical support provided by the WTO Secretariat and emphasized his Government's needs for continued capacity-building, as a least-developed country (LDC).

The Minister also participated in the 9th Working Party Meeting of Uzbekistan on 5–6 December 2024. In his intervention at the meeting, he highlighted that Ethiopia shares Uzbekistan's steadfast commitment to joining the WTO and noted the contribution of WTO accession to the diversification and liberalization of acceding economies.

The visit included briefing sessions on WTO Accession, jointly delivered by the World Bank and the WTO Secretariat on 9–10 December 2024. Members of Ethiopia's Steering Committee addressed the economic impact of WTO membership, key provisions and obligations across WTO Agreements, and specific issues in Ethiopia's multilateral and bilateral accession negotiations. The delegation recognized the significant benefits of WTO accession, including increased trade predictability, access to WTO instruments, and increased attractiveness of Ethiopia's economy for foreign direct investment.

The Steering Committee also acknowledged the challenges of LDCs in the process of WTO accession, calling for robust capacity-building to help Ethiopia conclude its accession negotiations as early as 2026 and to implement its accession commitments. To align Ethiopia's national development plans and potential international trade obligations, the delegation stressed the role of technical support in advancing its accession, calling on the WTO Secretariat and the World Bank to provide their assistance and expertise.

Furthermore, Ethiopia expressed its readiness to actively engage with WTO members in advancing its bilateral market access negotiations. During the visit, it held bilateral meetings with several members.

As Ethiopia prepares for its 5th Working Party meeting in 2025, the Steering Committee agreed on an accession roadmap which outlines steps and timelines for concluding the negotiations, currently envisaged for 2026. Ethiopia articulated its intention to continue proactive engagement and collaboration with members based on the roadmap, emphasizing that WTO membership will unlock significant opportunities and foster long-term development of the country alongside its parallel active engagement in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ethiopia's accession Working Party last met in January 2020. Members of the Steering Committee visiting Geneva included  Ambassador Mesganu Arga Moach, State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chief Negotiator on WTO Accession;  Yasmin Wohabrebbi Saeed, State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration; Eyob Tekalign Tolina, State Minister of Finance;  Belayihun Yirga Kifile, State Minister of Justice;  Debele Kabeta Hursa, Commissioner for Customs; Fikadu Digafie Huriso, Vice Governor of the  National Bank of Ethiopia; and Zeleke Temesgen Boru, Commissioner for Investment.