MINSK, 15 November (BelTA) – A regular meeting of the WTO Informal Group of Acceding Governments was held in Geneva under the chairmanship of Permanent Representative of Belarus in Geneva Yury Ambrazevich, BelTA learned from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva.
The meeting was attended by WTO Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who informed the delegations about the preparations for the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, as well as achievements and current trends in the work of the organization. The WTO director-general assured that the further expansion of the organization continues to be one of its priority areas and urged the Members of the Group to continue active interaction with the WTO Members in all negotiation areas within the accession process.
Yury Ambrazevich drew attention of the participants to the use by Western countries of unilateral coercive measures in defiance of international law, which undermines the multilateral trading system. Such illegitimate actions impede sustainable development of the states affected by the sanctions, violate the economic and social rights of citizens of these states.
Yury Ambrazevich appealed to the WTO director-general to respond at the level of the organization to this negative international trend, recognizing the illegitimate and harmful nature of the sanctions.
The Belarusian representative noted that the accession of Belarus to the WTO opens the way for the membership of the Eurasian Economic Union in the organization. The Republic of Belarus believes that sustainable recovery and development is inextricably linked with the strengthening of regional integration associations and the establishment of cooperation between them. In this regard, the accession of the EAEU to the WTO, as a union that is a large market operating according to uniform rules, could become a significant milestone for the development of the regional dimension in the organization.
The delegations exchanged views on expectations from the Ministerial Conference and on the negotiations on accession to the WTO in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion highlighted the importance of involving the acceding countries in the WTO multilateral interaction, which is valuable not only as means of promoting accession negotiations, but also as an opportunity to contribute to the work of the organization.
