Opinions & Interviews

SMOLEVICHI DISTRICT, 19 December (BelTA) - Germany supports the efforts of Belarus on its ways to join the World Trade Organization, Eckhard Franz, the head of the external economic policy division at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, said at the meeting of the Belarusian-German working group on trade and investment held in the Great Stone industrial park on 19 December, BelTA has learned.

“We are very supportive of Belarus’ efforts to join the WTO. Your finance minister talked to our state secretary and clearly underlined that Belarus intends to join the WTO in 2019. It is very important,” Eckhard Franz said.

He emphasized the growing bilateral trade between the countries and expressed the hope that Belarus and Germany will be able to maintain this positive trend.

Eckhard Franz added that in early 2018 Belarus improved its rankings in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, moving from the seventh to the sixth group of countries on the credit risk classification. “The country should try to move to the fifth position. This will make many things easier. I think this should be the country’s next goal,” he said.

Belarus continues to negotiate its access to markets of goods and services with the countries of the World Trade Organization. In December 2018, Belarus signed the relevant protocol with Switzerland which became the 20th WTO member to have supported Belarus. In 2017-2018, similar protocols were signed with ten states.