Roundtable on the WTO entry takes place in Baku

As APA reports, Azerbaijan is learning experiences to achieve a suitable accession to the WTO.

The SPECA countries participating in this Roundtable are Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the host country Azerbaijan. Each delegation comprises key officials from the country's negotiation team or from the Ministry of Commerce/Economy and Foreign Affairs as well as representatives from the private sector - including those from civil society and women groups. The Permanent Representatives of Azerbaijan and Afghanistan as well as other Geneva based diplomats are attending the Roundtable too. There are about 60 representatives participating in this Roundtable.

The objective of this Roundtable is to enhance the understanding of the WTO accession process and to achieve greater networking among SPECA countries on issues related to WTO accession, as well as on other broader global issues related to the world economy and multilateral trading system. Exchanges of information and experiences are critical as SPECA countries pursue their on-going efforts to further integrate themselves into the world economy and the multilateral trading system.

UNCTAD representative Nobert Lebale thanked the Government of Azerbaijan and drew the attention to the necessity of the study of various experiences.

Issues on lessons of Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Oman, as well as the Doha Development Round were discussed at the meeting.