The progress of work on Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO was discussed

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the presentation on the progress and prospects of the process of joining the World Trade Organization.

The World Trade Organization is an authoritative international structure that coordinates multilateral interstate trade relations. 95 percent of world trade is accounted for by the 164 member countries of the organization.

The main objective of the WTO is to promote the sustainable development of countries and improve the well–being of their populations through the provision and expansion of free and transparent trade relations. This fully corresponds to the goals of the economic reforms being implemented in Uzbekistan. 

Previously, half of our country's exports were cotton fiber. After the complete abandonment of the export of raw cotton, the supply of ready-made clothing abroad increased 4 times, and textiles exceeded $ 3 billion. As a result of Uzbekistan's accession to the GSP+ system in 2021, exports of finished products to the European market increased by 1.5 times.

WTO accession will provide even wider opportunities for increasing exports of finished products. That is why Uzbekistan restarted the process of joining this international structure in 2019 and has made confident steps in this direction over the past period.

At the meeting, the head of state stressed that our country should definitely join the WTO, and noted the economic importance of this task.

- In the next three years, we plan to double the export of finished products. The only way to achieve this is to become a member of the World Trade Organization. This will allow establishing a fair trade system with 164 countries and finding stable markets," Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

The President spoke about the need to accelerate this process in his Message last year. To this end, bilateral negotiations were held with more than 50 countries belonging to the World Trade Organization. In March of this year, the sixth meeting of the working group on Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO was held.

During the presentation, the issues raised by the member States of the organization during the negotiations were discussed.

Instructions were given on the harmonization of national legislation based on WTO agreements, bringing procedures and standards in line with international requirements. It is pointed out that it is necessary to attract foreign consultants, form working groups, and system interaction of all ministries and embassies in this matter.