Ethiopia has resumed its negotiations to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), aiming for membership by the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The Ethiopian delegation, led by Minister of Trade and Regional Integration Kassahun Gofe Balami, engaged with WTO officials in Geneva to discuss the country's accession.
Minister Kassahun expressed Ethiopia's ambition: "Our ambition is to finalize the accession process in the next several months and join the WTO family at the 14th Ministerial Conference, scheduled to take place on African soil, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. With its fast-growing economy and historical role as a leader in the continent, Ethiopia’s accession to the WTO will be a significant achievement for us, for Africa, and indeed for the WTO itself."
Ethiopia has been implementing reforms under its Home-Grown Economic Reform Agenda to align with WTO rules. These include changes to economic policies aimed at enhancing resilience and promoting private sector growth. Key reforms involve foreign exchange system adjustments, establishing a securities exchange system for long-term financing, and creating an investment holding for state-owned enterprises.
The Ethiopian delegation stated that their goods offer includes bound rates lower than those for least developed countries (LDCs) in agriculture. The revised services offer now covers sectors such as finance, communications, transportation, education, and tourism. Bilateral negotiations have occurred with 12 WTO members.
Minister Gofe Balami noted that recent accessions of Comoros and Timor-Leste have been encouraging: "It also strengthens our confidence that WTO members will continue to support our efforts to the end. The success of these two new members inspires Ethiopia to redouble its efforts to finalize its accession as expeditiously as possible."
The official resumption of negotiations marks Ethiopia's renewed commitment after a five-year hiatus since their last Working Party meeting on January 30, 2020. Efforts by Ethiopia over the past year were acknowledged during this meeting.
A high-level Ethiopian delegation visited the WTO in December 2024 ahead of reactivating their Working Party. Additionally, meetings took place between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during an African Union Summit.
WTO Deputy-Director General Xiangchen Zhang chaired this recent Working Party meeting temporarily stepping into Rebecca Fisher-Lamb's role from the United Kingdom. He urged Ethiopia to use this opportunity for setting timelines related to policy decisions necessary for economic reform.
DDG Zhang appreciated both member states' engagement along with constructive discussions from Ethiopia allowing progress towards understanding required actions within upcoming months leading into critical periods regarding accession processes.
Members supported Ethiopian efforts while commending authorities’ work towards reaching goals without binding deadlines but rather focusing on tangible results throughout proceedings moving forward into next steps outlined following meetings held earlier today at Geneva headquarters alongside various multilateral fronts being addressed concurrently across different areas involving technical assistance requirements identified via roundtable sessions coordinated jointly among development partners present including Advisory Centre World Trade Organization Law Enhanced Integrated Framework European Union International Trade Centre United Nations Industrial Development Organization World Bank amongst others reviewing capacity-building needs stressing importance coordination timely provision support advancing processes facilitating implementations associated reforms needed ensure successful integration global trading systems worldwide marketplace environments benefiting all stakeholders 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