1

Accessions Strategic Objectives

Domestic reform instrument

Systemic update

Market access expansion

International cooperation for trade

Stay connected

Inside this issue:

EIGHTH INFORMAL GROUP ON ACCESSIONS

Thursday, 29 September 2017

Agenda:

Accession of Belarus: 9th Meeting of the

Working Party — 13 September 2017

Progress Report on Accessions in 2017 Focus: Accession of Bosnia and HerzegovinaAccession of Union of the Comoros

Accession Working Parties State of Play: Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Timor-Leste

Accession Re-engagement: Iraq

Technical Assistance and Outreach: Public

Forum: Accessions behind the Headlines and 6th China Round Table

Accession Anniversaries in October: Cambodia

Chaired by the WTO Secretariat (Maika Oshikawa, Officer-in-Charge of the Accessions Division).

Belarus: The 9th Meeting of the Working Party, chaired by Ambassador Kemal Madenoğlu (Turkey), took place on 13 September 2017. This was the second meeting held this year, following a meeting in January 2017 which had formally resumed the Working Party process after 12 years. The delegation of Belarus, led by Mr. Andrei Yeudachenka, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, comprised of 40 officials from different ministries and government agencies, including seven deputy ministers.

On the multilateral front, the Working Party reviewed the first draft Report of the Working Party and a comprehensive set of supporting documentation submitted by Belarus. Members recognized that solid technical work had been accomplished since the last Working Party meeting. Discussions also focused on the commitments that Belarus was invited to undertake, notably the identical commitment paragraphs contained in the Working Party Reports of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan, in the revision of the draft Report.

On the bilateral front, Belarus has concluded 14 agreements, four of which were concluded this year, while negotiations are reportedly ongoing with 11 WTO Members. Belarus intends to intensify bilateral contacts with these Members, including on the margins of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference.

The Working Party Meeting was preceded by a plurilateral meeting on agriculture on 12 September 2017, the first such meeting held since 2005. The meeting reviewed Belarus' Agriculture Supporting Tables for 2011–2013, which were deemed technically advanced. However, Members and Belarus adopted disparate positions regarding the specific parameters of commitments on domestic support.

Regarding next steps, Members were to submit questions and comments in writing by 11 October 2017. Belarus has invited the Working Party Chairperson and the Secretariat to visit Minsk on 1–2 November 2017 for meetings with high-level government officials.

N° 77 - October 2017

Accession of Belarus Ninth meeting of the Working Party — 13 September 2017

Accession of Belarus — 9th Working Party meeting — Geneva, 13 September 2017

Accession of Belarus— Pre-meeting with WP Chairperson and Accessions Division — 12 September 2017

Ambassador Kemal Madenoğlu (Turkey) Chairperson of the Working Party

on the Accession of Belarus

Mr. Andrei Yeudachenka, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus

Ms. Alla Lomakina, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus

2

Progress Report on Accessions in 2017 Focus

Bosnia and Herzegovina: On 21 September 2017, Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Law on Internal Trade, which was the last outstanding item on its Legislative Action Plan. Further on the multilateral front, the Secretariat is updating the draft Report of the Working Party, which is expected to be circulated to the Working Party in October, along with the final version of the Legislative Action Plan.

On the bilateral front, outstanding bilateral market access negotiations are advancing, following the negotiating team's visit to Geneva at the end of July 2017. Sarajevo aims to conclude all bilateral market access negotiations as soon as possible.

The Working Party will be informed of the next steps, including a Working Party meeting, following the circulation of the documentation.

Union of the Comoros: The 3rd Meeting of the Working Party will be convened on 12 October 2017. The delegation of Comoros is expected to be led by the Vice-President Mr. Djaffar Ahmed Said Hassani. The main purpose of the next meeting is to review the Elements of a draft Working Party Report prepared by the Secretariat.

On the bilateral front, following the signing of bilateral market access protocols with Brazil and Japan in July, negotiations are ongoing with other WTO Members. Comoros aims to conclude all bilateral market access negotiations as soon as possible.

Iraq: The Secretariat is in close contact with Baghdad regarding the possibility of holding an informal meeting of the Working Party in November 2017, following a request by Dr. Salaman Ali Al-Jumaily, Acting Minister of Trade of Iraq, addressed to WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo in July 2017. In his letter, the Acting Minister conveyed the

Accession Re-engagement

Accession Working Parties State of Play Ethiopia: Ambassador Carsten Staur (Denmark) was appointed as Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Ethiopia, following the departure of Ambassador Steffen Smidt (Denmark) in May 2017.

Somalia: Ms. Maryan Hassan, Chief Negotiator for WTO Accession, visited Geneva on 26-27 September, during the 2017 WTO Public Forum (see section on technical assistance and outreach activities). Together with Ambassador Faduma Abdulahi Mohamud of Somalia and several members of the negotiating team, the Chief Negotiator engaged in bilateral meetings with several WTO Members, and met with the WTO Director-General. Meetings were also held with several partners, including the International Trade Centre, the Enhanced Integrated Framework, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Bank, and the Graduate Institute.

On the technical front, Somalia aims to submit its Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime before the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference so that a first meeting of the Working Party could be held in the first half of 2018.

Sudan: Following the 4th meeting of the Working Party held in July 2017, Sudan has not yet submitted its written responses to Members' questions which were transmitted to the negotiating team in August.

Timor-Leste: Ambassador Pedro Nuno Bártolo (Portugal) was appointed as Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Timor-Leste.

The Secretariat is in regular touch with the negotiating team in Dili, regarding an upcoming Secretariat's technical mission which aims to assist Timor-Leste in the preparation of additional documentation, following the submission of responses to Members' questions on the Memorandum of the Foreign Trade Regime, circulated in June 2017, which will be submitted along with a Legislative Action Plan.

N° 77 - October 2017

strong interest of the Government of Iraq to reactivate its accession process which has been dormant since 2008. The objective of this informal meeting would be to provide an opportunity for Iraq to brief WTO Members on the state of play on the preparation for a formal resumption of the Working Party process in early 2018.

Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina Working lunch — 14 September 2017

Mr. Said Abdou Salime (Comoros) at the Public Forum on Accessions — 27 September 2017

Accession of Iraq — Meeting between DG Roberto Azevêdo and Ambassador Mouayed SALEH

20 September 2017

Ambassador Kamal Gubara (Sudan) at the Public Forum on Accessions — 27 September 2017

Accession of Timor-Leste — Videoconference with Dili 9 August 2017

Accession of Somalia—Meeting between DG Roberto Azevêdo and Ms Maryn Hassan, Chief Negotiator

26 September 2017

3

Technical Assistance and Outreach Activities Public Forum: Accessions behind the Headlines

On 27 September, during the WTO 2017 Public Forum, the Secretariat organized a session on "Accessions behind the Headlines: Integration of Arab Countries into the Global Economy", in partnership with the WTO Arab Group. The Arab Group was represented by Ambassador Yusuf Abdulkarim Mohammed Bucheeri of Bahrain, who stressed the importance of the multilateral trading system for the Arab Group, especially by ensuring that the Arab region has a voice in shaping world trade. This session also featured three Arab accessions — Comoros, Somalia, and Sudan — whose accession efforts have been supported by the WTO Arab Group. Summaries of the acceding governments' statements appear below.

Comoros: On his remarks on "Opportunities and Challenges of WTO Accession for Comoros", Ambassador Sultan Chouzour underlined that despite societal problems that Comoros has historically faced,

Comoros' government is strongly committed to its WTO accession process and believes that the potential benefits of WTO accession can enhance Comoros' prosperity.

Somalia: On their joint remarks on "WTO Accession for Somalia: Anticipation, Preparation and Reformation", Ambassador Faduma Abdullahi Mohamud and the Somalian Chief Negotiator, Ms. Maryan Hassan, highlighted that the new Government, led by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, strongly supports the WTO accession process, and that Somalia is ready to undertake domestic reforms with a view to acceding by 2020. They also noted Somalia's potential for foreign investors, but stressed that Somalia requires ardent support from WTO members to realize this potential.

Sudan: Ambassador Kamal Gubara discussed the economic reforms that Sudan is undertaking in relation to its accession process. Underlining Sudan's immense export potential in livestock, gold and other minerals, and Gum Arabic, he recognized that Sudan is unable to reap optimal benefits from this potential due to lack of technical knowledge and infrastructure, and thus hopes that the WTO accession process could help attract investment in these areas.

The presentations were followed by questions from participants, including from Article XII Members, acceding governments, civil society, and development partners.

The Accessions Division wishes a very Happy WTO Accession Anniversary to:

13

OCTOBER Cambodia is the 20th economy that joined the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement and became the 148th Member of the WTO on 13 October 2004.

N° 77 - October 2017

6th China Round Table, 9 December 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Sixth China Round Table will take place on 9 December 2017, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one day before the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference. The thematic focus is "Strengthening the Rules-based Multilateral Trading System and Building a Network to Promote Accessions." A network of accession negotiators is scheduled to be launched during the China Round Table. The main objectives of the network are to: (i)

Farewell to Deputy Director-General Shark

On Friday, 29 September 2017, WTO Deputy Director-General (DDG) Mr. David Shark stepped down from his post as DDG. The Accessions Division would like to thank Mr. Shark for his support for the Accessions Division during his time at the WTO, and wishes Mr. Shark the very best in the future.

Public Forum — Session 44 — Speakers Panel 27 September 2017

connect former and current negotiators directly involved in accession negotiations; (ii) share knowledge and perspectives on how to solve challenges in accession negotiations; and (iii) learn from past experiences.

Official invitation letters have been sent to all acceding governments and LDC Article XII Members. In preparation for the establishment of the network of accession negotiators, Members are invited to submit names to a list of accession negotiators who have been directly involved in accession negotiations.

4

Evolving Calendar of Accessions Meetings (ECAM)

Accession Working Parties Evolving Calendar of Accession Meetings (ECAM)

WTO Director-General's Annual Reports on Accessions

Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)

Handbook on Accessions to the WTO WTO Accessions Internship - "China Programme"

Accession-Related Technical Assistance Activities Accession processes of Article XII Members, click here

Accession Portal on the WTO Website (En, Fr, Es) WTO Accessions Newsletters

Accessions Toolbox

Other Accession Events

Date Event

9 December 2017 6th China Round Table on WTO Accessions, Buenos Aires, Argentina

N° 77 - October 2017

DATE WORKING PARTY MEETING STATUS ROOM

Thursday, 12 October 2017 Comoros 3rd Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of the Union of the Comoros WTO/AIR/ACC/15 dated

29/09/2017 refers W

[Thursday, 26 - Friday, 27 October] General Council

[TBC] Iraq Informal Meeting of the Working Party Convening Notice

pending TBC

10-13 December 2017 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11), Buenos Aires, Argentina

2017/2018

[TBC] Belarus 10th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Belarus Convening Notice

pending TBC

[TBC] Bosnia and Herzegovina 13th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina Convening Notice

pending TBC

[TBC] Lebanon 8th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of the Lebanese Republic Convening Notice

pending TBC

[TBC] Ethiopia 4th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Ethiopia Convening Notice

pending TBC

[TBC] Sudan 5th Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Sudan Convening Notice

pending TBC

[TBC] Timor-Leste 1st Meeting of the Working Party on the

Accession of Timor-Leste Convening Notice

pending TBC

5

List of WTO Accessions Working Party Chairpersons

Government Date Working Party established Working Party Chairperson

1. Algeria 17 June 1987 Pending

2. Andorra 22 October 1997 Pending

3. Azerbaijan 16 July 1997 H.E. Dr Walter Werner (Germany)

4. The Bahamas 18 July 2001 H.E. Mr Wayne McCook (Jamaica)

5. Belarus 27 October 1993 H.E. Mr Kemal Madenoğlu (Turkey)

6. Bhutan* 6 October 1999 H.E. Mr Thomas Hajnoczi (Austria)

7. Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 July 1999 H.E. Dr Rajmund Kiss (Hungary)

8. Comoros, Union of the* 9 October 2007 H.E. Mr Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia (Peru)

9. Equatorial Guinea 5 February 2008 Pending

10. Ethiopia* 10 February 2003 H.E. Mr Carsten Staur (Denmark)

11. Iran 26 May 2005 Pending

12. Iraq 13 December 2004 H.E. Mr Omar Hilale (Morocco)

13. Lebanese Republic 14 April 1999 Mr Jean-Paul Thuillier (France)

14. Libya 27 July 2004 Mr Victor Echevarría Ugarte (Spain)

15. Sao Tomé and Principe* 26 May 2005 Pending

16. Serbia 15 February 2005 H.E. Mrs Marie-Claire Swärd Capra (Sweden)

17. Somalia* 7 December 2016 Pending

18. Sudan* 25 October 1994 Mr Ryosuke Kuwana (Japan)

19. Syrian Arab Republic 4 May 2010 Pending

20. Timor-Leste* 7 December 2016 H.E. Mr Pedro Nuno Bártolo (Portugal)

21. Uzbekistan 21 December 1994 H.E. Mr Seokyoung Choi (Korea)

* Least-Developed Country (LDC)

N° 77 - October 2017