MINSK, 29 March (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko voiced his opinion regarding the need to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) for Belarus at the session held on 29 March to discuss the accession to this organization, BelTA has learned.
“The main thing is to decide whether we need it in the current conditions,” the head of state said.
“Just recently they said we were not welcome there. Today we are encouraged to take this step. By whom? Do we have well-wishers in the world? No. There is tough competition in the economy. When our competitors are pushing us to do something I always think about the reasons why they are doing so,” the President noted.
Alexander Lukashenko stressed that, in fact, two powerful unions have been established. These are the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“What is the purpose of the World Trade Organization in the global perspective today? When I am discussing this issue with colleagues, they say that the WTO has actually exhausted itself,” the Belarusian leader added.
“I am not speaking about small unions such as Mercosur, the Eurasian Economic Union, etc. There are plenty of them in the world. But these two huge associations, I think, will be hardly willing to take the WTO requirements into account. They will protect their members,” Alexander Lukashenko believes.
“Therefore, today we need to decide what we are going to do with our bid to join the World Trade Organization,” the President concluded.
Belarus' main partners, Russia and Kazakhstan, are the members of the WTO. “We have to take this into account. Nevertheless, there is a certain degree of freedom for us. We are not bound by the WTO rules and regulations. Do we need this degree of freedom or not? Will we benefit from the accession to the WTO or will this just impose certain obligations on us?” Alexander Lukashenko asked the meeting participants.
Belarus has been negotiating with the WTO for more than 15 years. “Perhaps, we should have answers to all questions by now,” the Belarusian leader added.
