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Belarus continues consultations on WTO accession

Andrei Yeudachenka. An archive photo

MINSK, 14 May (BelTA) - Belarus continues bilateral consultations on the accession to the World Trade Organization, Belarus’ First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Yeudachenka told BelTA.

The situation with the coronavirus has affected the process of Belarus' accession to the WTO. “We continue bilateral consultations during this difficult period, including in the format of video conferencing,” the first deputy minister said. He added that Belarus “has a lot to discuss individually with the WTO member states.”

Andrei Yeudachenka explained that the accession to the WTO implies three negotiating tracks. “Thus, we resolve multilateral systemic issues, hold bilateral consultations with individual states on access to the markets of goods and services, and discuss state support of agriculture,” he said.

The first deputy minister recalled that the regular meeting of the working group on Belarus' WTO accession was to have been held in Switzerland in February. However, given the pandemic and the situation in the host country, it was postponed indefinitely.

In February, the Ministry of Foreign Minister said it epxected Belarus to join the WTO in late 2020 and early 2021. Andrei Yeudachenka noted that he would not talk about the date as there is none set and everything depends on how the parties agree.

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