Mr. Jamshid Khodjaev, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan and Chair of the Inter-Agency Commission on WTO Accession, led a delegation to Geneva as part of the country's ongoing efforts to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). The delegation included Mr. Azizbek Urunov, Special Representative of the President on WTO issues and Chief Negotiator for WTO accession; Mr. Ahadbek Khaydarov, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance; Mr. Alisher Karimov, Deputy Minister of Justice; and Mr. Akmaljon Kosimov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture. Officials from various ministries and agencies also participated.
“Uzbekistan remains steadfast in its commitment to joining the World Trade Organization, and we are diligently exerting every possible effort to make meaningful progress,” said Mr. Khodjaev, expressing hopes to join by the 14th Ministerial Conference in Cameroon in 2026. He urged delegates to “invest in and support” the accession process, emphasizing that their “collaboration, expertise, and assistance” were essential for successful negotiations.
Ambassador Yun Seong-deok of the Republic of Korea, Chair of the Working Party, highlighted the accelerated pace of negotiations. “Today, we are meeting just six months after our seventh meeting. A shorter interval between Working Party meetings is a clear indication that our work is advancing at a faster pace. I trust that this is a result of the institutional changes introduced last year to strengthen the management and coordination of the accession process,” he stated.
Uzbekistan's accession process resumed with a fourth Working Party meeting in July 2020, followed by meetings in June 2022, March 2023, and November 2023. Ambassador Yun commended Uzbekistan's progress and noted that an informal meeting on Uzbekistan's agriculture support was held on May 23rd. The country has signed bilateral agreements with the Dominican Republic, Israel, Japan, and Uruguay and engaged in negotiations with 33 members since the seventh Working Party meeting.
The Working Party reviewed various aspects of Uzbekistan's foreign trade regime based on draft reports and other documents while urging additional commitments from Uzbekistan. Members underscored the significance of Uzbekistan's accession for both multilateral trading systems and their own foreign trade policies. Representatives from international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Trade Centre (ITC), and World Bank attended the meeting.
Mr. Karimov noted that since the seventh meeting, Uzbekistan had adopted several legal acts aligning its trade regime with WTO rules in areas including company registration fees, intellectual property rights, technical barriers to trade, sanitary measures, phytosanitary measures, and customs valuation. Additionally, Uzbekistan circulated a revised Legislative Action Plan along with draft legislation for review.
Ambassador Yun praised the improved engagement tone on both bilateral and multilateral tracks during his assessment of the meeting: “The tone of engagement on both bilateral and multilateral tracks has improved substantially,” he said while thanking all parties for a productive session.
Looking ahead, members were encouraged to build upon current achievements to finalize market access agreements. They were requested to submit questions, comments, and proposals for draft commitments by June 21st. Uzbekistan was also asked to provide replies along with supporting documents.
A specific date for the next Working Party meeting will be announced once all necessary negotiating inputs have been submitted.