Afghanistan to become 164th WTO member in July

Almaty. July 1. Silkroadnews – Afghanistan has ratified a protocol of accession to the World Trade Organization and as of July 29 will become the 164th member of the Organization, the press service of the WTO Geneva headquarters report.  

“Afghanistan has notified the WTO that its Parliament has ratified its Protocol of Accession, clearing the final hurdle for its WTO membership. According to WTO rules, Afghanistan will become the 164th member of the Organization on 29 July, 30 days after its instrument of acceptance was deposited at the WTO,” TASS quotes the statement by the WTO headquarters.

To remind, Afghanistan applied for WTO membership in 2004, with members of the accession working party concluding the negotiations on 11 November 2015, and then on December 17, 2015, during the WTO ministerial conference in Nairobi, the Protocol of Accession was signed. Country’s parliament ratified the document on June 18.

As noted in the Geneva headquarters, Afghanistan is the ninth least-developed country (LDC) (out of 48 states listed by the UN) to join the WTO. Liberia, also an LDC, will meanwhile become the 163rd WTO member on 14 July.