Events

MINSK, 21 May (BelTA) – Another round of negotiations on Belarus’ accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) was held in Geneva, Switzerland on 13-17 May. The Belarusian side was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Guryanov, the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry told BelTA.

BelTA has been told that Belarus had held bilateral talks with eight WTO members (Malaysia, Korea, Switzerland, Japan, Brazil, Salvador, Ecuador, and Sri Lanka) to discuss access to the market of commodities and services. The sides reached an agreement regarding the joint action plan to finish the bilateral negotiations.

Consultations held by Selim Kuneralp, the chairman of the working group on Belarus’ accession to the WTO, in the WTO headquarters was the key event.

Following the agenda of the session the sides discussed the current state of negotiations on Belarus’ accession to the WTO. Delegations of Russia, China, India, Japan, Cuba, Vietnam, Korea, Turkey, and Australia expressed their full support for Belarus’ accession to the WTO.

The negotiations indicated that the majority of the working group’s member states supports Belarus’ accession to the WTO. Details of the procedure to advance Belarus’ accession to the WTO were agreed with the WTO Secretariat. Delegations of the European Union and the United States indicated their overall readiness for further negotiations, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry told BelTA.