Uzbekistan concludes negotiations with India on WTO accession

BAKU. May 29 (Interfax) - Uzbekistan has concluded negotiations with India on issues concerning accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Uzbek president's special envoy on WTO affairs, Azizbek Urunov said.

The two countries signed a protocol on the conclusion of the negotiations on issues regarding market access, Urunov was reported as saying by Uzbek media. Agreements on this track were reached back in 2024.

Additional efforts were required to agree on the technical details and text of the protocol, Urunov said. However, India took a constructive position in the course of discussions on market access, he said.

Uzbekistan is in the final stage of bilateral negotiations on WTO accession, with agreements reaches with more than 30 countries. This year the country plans to complete remaining bilateral and multilateral negotiations, prepare a working group report, finally approve legislation and take steps to complete the process of joining the WTO.

Uzbekistan obtained observer status in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in June 1994 and formed a working group on WTO accession in 1998. Negotiations were then suspended and resumed in 2017. In July 2019, Uzbekistan submitted an updated memorandum on its foreign trade regime to the WTO, and in late June 2022 it began negotiations on accession terms.