Uzbekistan completes WTO accession talks with Kazakhstan

TASHKENT. Oct 16 (Interfax) - Uzbekistan has completed talks with Kazakhstan on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), Uzbekistan's chief WTO negotiator, Azizbek Urunov, said.

The talks on market access terms began in February 2026 and lasted eight months, Urunov said in a social media post. Despite the complexity of the issues, he said, the sides sought to strengthen bilateral economic ties.

"The next step will be signing the relevant protocol once the necessary domestic procedures are complete," he said. "We hope to do this in the coming weeks."

"This is another important step toward Uzbekistan's WTO membership and deeper integration into the global trading system," Urunov said. "Uzbekistan's accession process is now nearing its final stage."

Uzbekistan is in the final stage of bilateral talks on joining the WTO and has reached agreements with more than 30 countries. This year it plans to complete the remaining bilateral and multilateral talks, prepare the working party's report, finalize legislation and take the last steps to complete accession.

Uzbekistan became an observer to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in June 1994, and a working party on its accession was set up in 1998. Talks were suspended and resumed in 2017. In July 2019, Uzbekistan submitted an updated memorandum on its foreign trade regime to the WTO. Negotiations on accession terms began in late June 2022.