Azerbaijan sends new proposals for negotiations with WTO members - EXCLUSIVE

Azerbaijani government has sent new proposals to the member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) – responses to questions of member states within membership to the organization, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mammadguliyev told Report.

"At this stage, negotiations with the WTO countries are conducted by exchange of letters. They send us their proposals, we answer," Mammadguliyev said.

According to him, the date of the next meeting with the WTO members in Geneva has not been set yet despite of Azerbaijan’s challenges to accelerate the negotiation process: ‘The main point for Azerbaijan is quality of negotiations, conformation of reached agreement with the economic development criterions, achievement of concessions for developing countries’.

Azerbaijan is conducting negotiations on four directions – goods (tariffs on agricultural and industrial products), trade on service, improvement of legislation (complying with WTO requirements) and support to agriculture (subsidization).

With the suggestion of WTO secretariat, Azerbaijan continues negotiations on the entering of the country the organization on the bilateral basis. Prior to this, meetings of Azerbaijani delegation with the WTO Working Group were accompanied by both bilateral negotiations with the member-states and multilateral negotiations on agriculture.

At the last meeting held in December 2018, bilateral negotiations were held with Japan, Brazil, Norway and other countries on, first of all, getting mutual access to goods and services market.

Azerbaijan started negotiations with WTO members in 2004.

Currently, Azerbaijan is negotiating with 13 counties. So far, the negotiations with Turkey, Oman, UAE, Georgia and Kyrgyz Republic have been completed and protocols have been signed. Relations with China and Moldova are at the stage of signing of protocols.

Azerbaijan recently conducted several reforms, including adopted 12 strategic road map for economic development. Azerbaijan’s selection to WTO is expected to be based on the implementation of the road maps. Accordingly, after getting results from economic reforms expected to be conducted by 2020, negotiations may be intensified and the process of Azerbaijan’s accession to WTO may be completed.

Azerbaijan has had an observer status at WTO since 1997. On July 16, 1997, the Working Group on Azerbaijan was established under WTO Secretary.

Ilaha Mammadli