DUSHANBE, July 9, 2015, Asia-Plus -- The third enlarged meeting of the working group on coordination of activities of international organizations and Tajik government bodies on Tajikistan’s World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments was held in Dushanbe on July 9.

Presided over by Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Saidrahmon Nazriyev, the meeting reportedly brought together representatives of relevant ministries and agencies as well as private sector and international organizations active in the country.

An official source at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) says the meeting was organized on the basis of a bilateral agreement between the MEDT and UNDP in the framework of the regional project, Enlarged Europe: Supporting Trade in Central Asian Countries.

Under this initiative, UNDP promotes improvement of capacities of specialists of the MEDT and supports efforts on coordination and interaction in implementation of Tajikistan’s WTO commitments, the source said.

The program of adaptation of Tajikistan’s economy to the post WTO accession conditions was adopted on October 31, 2014.  The main objective of this program is in creating favorable conditions for development of small and medium-size enterprises in the country, attraction of foreign investments, and expansion of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the WTO member nations.

We will recall that Tajikistan applied for WTO membership on May 29, 2001 and the Working Party on the accession of Tajikistan was established by the General Council on 18 July 2001.  Tajikistan''s negotiations to join the WTO lasted for 11 years and Tajikistan concluded its membership negotiations on October 26 2012, when the Working Party adopted the accession package. 

As a result of the negotiations, Tajikistan has agreed to undertake a series of important commitments to further liberalize its trade regime and accelerate its integration in the world economy.

The WTO paved the way for Tajikistan’s membership by approving its accession package on December 10, 2012.  At a ceremony in Geneva on December 10, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon signed the protocol on Tajikistan''s admission to the international organization.