Working Party chair visits Uzbekistan as WTO accession negotiations enter critical phase

The visit was the first by a Working Party chair since Uzbekistan's accession process formally resumed in July 2020. It took place at an important stage in the negotiations, following substantial progress made in recent years, including at the 13th meeting of the Working Party held on 27 and 28 July. Ambassador Choi met with Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev, the Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan and Chief Negotiator for WTO accession Azizbek Urunov and members of the Interagency Negotiating Team to take stock of progress and discuss priorities for the remaining stages of the negotiations.

Discussions focused on outstanding work across the main negotiating areas, including the bilateral market access negotiations and the draft commitment paragraphs in the draft Report of the Working Party. On the bilateral track, with most market access negotiations with interested WTO members completed, emphasis was placed on the need to finalize the remaining agreements and prepare Uzbekistan's draft goods and services schedules for technical verification.

On the multilateral track, discussions addressed the need for continued consultations with WTO members to narrow differences on Uzbekistan's outstanding draft commitments and advance preparations for the next Working Party meeting. The timing of the next meeting will depend on progress achieved in the accession process.

Ambassador Choi reviewed progress on outstanding legislation with First Deputy Minister of Justice Makhmud Istamov. She discussed the next steps in the negotiations on agricultural support with Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Akhadbek Khaydarov. The discussions underscored that advancing the outstanding legislative reforms and reaching agreement on agricultural support will be key to finalizing the accession package.

Speaking at a press conference in Tashkent on 3 November, the Working Party chair acknowledged the progress achieved and the broad support among WTO members for Uzbekistan's accession, while emphasizing that important work remained. "The main task now is to translate the existing general support into concrete agreements on the remaining issues," she said. She also highlighted the importance of consolidating progress across the negotiations into a comprehensive accession package acceptable to WTO members.

At the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, a member of the WTO Chairs Programme,  Ambassador Choi met with Sodiq Safoev, Rector and First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, Uzbekistan's Parliament. Mr Safoev expressed the Parliament's strong support for WTO accession and pledged to expedite work on relevant legislation. The meeting was followed by a round table discussion with students on Uzbekistan's WTO accession and its implications for the country's trade and economic development. The visit provided an opportunity to discuss views on the role of the academic community in supporting the preparation for WTO membership.

While in Tashkent, the Working Party chair also discussed Uzbekistan's economic reforms and support for its WTO accession process with representatives from the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Uzbekistan applied for WTO membership in December 1994. Its accession negotiations resumed in July 2020 following a 15-year pause and the 13th meeting of the Working Party took place in July.