WTO accession issues were discussed during a special session of the

At the end of September this year, a special session of the Geneva Trade Week on accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) was held by videoconference, organized by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the WTO Secretariat to discuss the possibility of using international trade to implement the Sustainable Development Goals United Nations (SDGs) in the context of countries' accession to the WTO. This was reported on the website of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan.

The session was attended by the Executive Secretary of the UNECE O. Algayerova, Director of the WTO Accession Department M. Oshikava, Chief Negotiator on Bosnia and Herzegovina's WTO accession H. Tinyak, Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan B. Abidov, heads of diplomatic missions of Belarus and Kazakhstan in Geneva, as well as scientists, experts, representatives of the private sector.

In her welcoming speech, O. Algayerova noted the importance of trade and regional cooperation for the implementation of the SDGs, and also emphasized the benefits of joining the WTO, which, in her opinion, is aimed primarily at creating sustainable value chains and trade transparency.

Meanwhile, the director of the WTO accession department, Maika Oshikawa, said that the WTO plays an important role in achieving the SDGs, being an effective tool for promoting trade reforms aimed at economic growth and the well-being of the population of the participating countries. She also focused on the issues of accession to the WTO, covering 13 out of 17 SDG goals, the solution of which will give an additional impetus to the efforts of states to reform their national economies.

In turn, the Uzbek side provided information on the process of the republic's accession to the WTO. In particular, they emphasized the targeted measures to liberalize the foreign trade regime, currency regulation, customs and tax legislation, aimed at creating the most favorable conditions for Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO, taken within the framework of the Action Strategy in five priority areas of the republic's development in 2017-2021. In this context, the process is an integral part of ongoing reforms aimed at the further integration of Uzbekistan into the world economic community and the multilateral trading system.

During the session, a representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as a representative of Kazakhstan, who presented detailed information on the Kazakh experience of joining the organization, reviewed the current status of the accession process to the WTO.

Following the session, the participants noted the importance of close cooperation on the implementation of the EEC initiatives aimed at assisting countries in joining the WTO, including in matters of trade facilitation, bringing technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary standards in line with international requirements.