Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan and the European Union are resuming negotiations within the framework of the existing mechanism of cooperation.

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev announced about this in an interview with Trend on August 22.

Subcommittees will start work in September, said Mammad-Guliyev adding that during the autumn, it is planned to hold sessions of four subcommittees, operating in the spheres of trade, energy and transportation, ecology, security and human rights, education and other social issues.

He noted that these consultations will be held regardless of the terms of mandate of the EU Council to start negotiations on a new agreement on strategic partnership.

“It is expected that the mandate will be given to Azerbaijan closer to October, but it is still preliminary date,” said the deputy minister.

Azerbaijan put forward the initiative to conclude an agreement with the EU on strategic
modernization partnership instead of the Association Agreement (AA). This document is not legal; this is a program, an action plan, aimed at expanding cooperation with the EU beyond energy. The agreement will define new directions of partnership, such as education and other spheres.

Currently, bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999.

The new agreement envisages the approach of Azerbaijan’s legislation and procedures to the most important international trade norms and EU standards, which should lead to an improvement in the access of Azerbaijani goods to EU markets.

The EU is Azerbaijan’s main trade partner. The share of European countries in Azerbaijan’s foreign trade was 46.96 percent in 2015, according to the country’s State Customs Committee. Currently, the EU countries account for 31.92 and 59.1 percent of Azerbaijan’s import and export, respectively.

WTO-Azerbaijan

Mammad-Guliyev further added that the next round of discussions on Azerbaijan’s joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be held no earlier than the end of the first half of 2017.

“By late August, we expect to receive the questions of WTO member states voiced during the talks in the third decade of July 2016 in Geneva from the WTO working party, while some countries, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Ecuador have already submitted their proposals,” said Mammad-Guliyev.

He noted that the proposals are mainly related to the reduction in tariffs, the liberalization in the service sector and others.

Azerbaijan started negotiations with Russia and Saudi Arabia within the WTO in summer. They expressed interest in receiving the initial negotiating rights, if Azerbaijan changes tariffs on some commodity positions, in order to be the first to negotiate on this issue.

“We need time for the next negotiation process’ preparation, thus, I think that the meeting with the WTO working party will be held no earlier than the first half of 2017,” explained the deputy foreign minister.

During the latest meeting, the chair of working party on Azerbaijan’s access to the WTO Walter Werner urged Azerbaijan and WTO members to “accelerate” the pace of negotiations. He also called on the WTO members to intensify bilateral negotiations with Azerbaijan.

This was the first meeting in 2016. The previous meeting was held in March 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Azerbaijan has had an observer status at the WTO since 1997. The country began negotiations with WTO member states in 2004. Currently, the country negotiates with 19 countries.

As of today, Azerbaijan has completed the negotiations and has signed protocols with Turkey, Oman, the UAE, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. The country is at the stage of signing protocols with China and Moldova.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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