Azerbaijan to talk WTO membership in Geneva
By Nigar Orujova
A delegation led by Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev has left for Geneva to continue negotiations for joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend on February 17.
The delegation is planned to hold negotiations with the U.S., Canada, Norway, Japan, and other countries on the issues of goods and services trade, as well as issues of domestic support to Azerbaijan's agriculture.
Currently, Azerbaijan is in the process of negotiations with the U.S., Japan, Brazil, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, European Union, Norway, India, South Korea, Taiwan Province of China, Canada, Switzerland, and Honduras to join the WTO.
Talks have been completed and protocols signed with Turkey, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan.
Azerbaijan began consultations with the WTO in 2004. The last talks were held in Geneva in June 2013.
The working group on Azerbaijan at the WTO Secretariat was established on July 16, 1997.
Since then, Azerbaijan has been invited to attend the World Trade Organisation meetings as an observer.