Training Turkmenistan’s Government for its accession to the WTO kicks off

In April, the International Trade Centre (ITC) organized an online training for almost 20 representatives of the Government Commission of Turkmenistan and the public sector on the World Trade Organization’s legal framework and accession negotiations to prepare for the accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The event was important considering the recent establishment of the Working Party for the accession of Turkmenistan to the WTO in February 2022. The training was held under ITC’s Ready4Trade Central Asia project funded by the European Union (EU). 

The participants learned about WTO’s role in setting international trade rules between nations and how to address potential needs at the beginning of Turkmenistan’s negotiations.

Next to preparing relevant documentation, the attendees received information on WTO agreements, including on non-discrimination principles, the General Agreement on Trade in Services, Agriculture, and Trade Facilitation, Anti-Dumping, Trade-Related Investment Measures, Technical Barriers to Trade, Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

“Turkmenistan is committed to strengthen its cooperation with the WTO and pursue accession efforts,” said Maksat Chariyev, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. “The WTO accession process is a great learning tool for us and will provide an opportunity for trade-related reforms as well as to take measures to attract foreign direct investment. In addition, the WTO accession process is in line with both the National Foreign Trade Strategy 2021-2030 and the recently approved National Programme for Social and Economic Development of Turkmenistan 2022-2052.”

This introductory training was a first one in a series of trainings on the WTO accession process for the Government of Turkmenistan, planned for 2022.