PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES AHEAD OF AZERBAIJAN’S WTO ADMISSION
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 6 2006
Prospects for Azerbaijan’s joining the World Trade Organization (WTO)
and economic development were in focus at the event, “The World Trade
Network and Azerbaijan,” in Baku on Wednesday.
Addressing the meeting, Emil Majidov, president of the Azerbaijan
Export & Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO organizing the event,
said local entrepreneurs were poorly aware of WTO and the discussions
targeted briefing the participants on the economic processes ongoing
around the world.
Deputy Economic Development Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said an
action plan had been prepared for local businessmen on Azerbaijan’s
forthcoming accession to WTO. The country is currently going through
a stage that is pivotal for its admission to the organization, he said.
Deputy Foreign Minister and chairman of the taskforce on WTO admission
Mahmud Mammadguliyev reminded that Azerbaijan applied for its accession
in 1997 and four meetings of the taskforce have been held thus far. He
further made a presentation entitled “Azerbaijan’s inception to WTO:
the status of talks and backbone of the business community”.
A roundtable, “WTO membership and the business community’s interests”,
held later in the day concluded with the adoption of the mentioned
Action Plan.
The deputy minister told reporters after the discussions that the
government will do its utmost to ensure that Azerbaijan is admitted
to WTO with a status of a developing country. This will allow it to
receive suitable concessions, in particular, on the agricultural
sector. The talks to that end have already begun and the needed
arguments submitted to the WTO secretariat, Mammadguliyev said.
“During the all-sided discussions, Malaysia supported our admission
with this status. But the United States and the European Union avoided
comment. We will further work to make sure that the USA and EU back
our stance by speaking in favor of it.”
Mammadguliyev continued that one of the priority issues for
WTO admission is improving laws, as this is at the core of the
recommendations made to the country.
“We have submitted a list concerning legislative improvements. This
work has to be done over two years at the most,” he said, adding that
although the issue is regularly raised during the talks, WTO is still
concerned over the lack of such changes.
Touching upon the possible obstacles that may be posed by WTO
member state Armenia, with which Azerbaijan faces the long-standing
conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, Mammadguliyev said this will
not happen. “Upon its admission, Armenia assumed a commitment not to
veto Azerbaijan’s inception,” he said.
The deputy minister emphasized that any talks with Armenia on the
matter are certainly out of the question, as the two countries maintain
no ties.
Mammadguliyev told the press earlier that Armenia’s admission to the
WTO prior to that of Azerbaijan is due to the fact this country started
relevant talks four years earlier, in 1993. He added that countries’
accession to the organization in general mainly depends not on their
economic indicators, but on how fast they fulfill their obligations.