30/11/2009Iraq participates on the World Trade Organization meeting aspiring full membership
Participate Iraq tomorrow (Monday) at the Ministerial Conference of WTO held in Geneva, seeking to run for a third round of talks with the organization for full membership, according to a media source in the Ministry of Commerce.
Faraj al-Jaafari today (Sunday) that a delegation of the Supreme National Committee, headed by the Minister of Commerce "will take part in the Ministerial Conference of WTO held in Geneva tomorrow (Monday) over the three days," noting that "the delegation will be headed by the Minister of Trade and agency Safa al-Din net and membership of representatives from the ministries concerned.
Jaafari said that "the delegation will discuss the possibility of Iraq's accession to the organization and to obtain full membership instead of the capacity of observer that it is now," indicating that Iraq is "a contract by two rounds of talks with the International Secretariat of the Organization Aljennif and this is the third time that confers the for membership Organization. "
According to Jaafari, the Iraqi delegation "will present a working paper on the various sectors", noting that the full membership "needs time and convinced the members of the World Trade Organization by granting full membership," adding that Iraq "before in February 2004 as an observer of the organization."
The holding of this Ministerial Conference, the seventh after four years of the last OSCE conference in Hong Kong in 2005.
Participants in the conference and trade ministers from 153 member States of the World Trade Organization as well as ministers of the developments on the observer status, which aspires to join the organization and representatives of numerous bodies and relevant international organizations like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Islamic Development Bank and the Fund Arab Monetary Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The WTO was established in 1995 and is one of the smallest international organizations, as are younger Khalifa General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which was established in the wake of World War II.
and last meeting for Iraq and WTO ~
WTO: 2008 NEWS ITEMS
2 April 2008
ACCESSIONS (IRAQ)
2nd Working Party meeting on Iraq's accession
Working Party reviews Iraq’s trade legislation
Working Party members, on 2 April 2008, supported Iraq’s rapid accession to the WTO and argued it would contribute to the country’s integration into the world economy. Iraq’s Trade Minister, H. E. Dr. Al-Sudani, stated that Iraq was determined to overcome the country’s difficult circumstances to move forward on the accession process and added that Iraq’s membership would represent a significant addition to the international community.
Review of trade legislation
At this stage of the accession, members examine all aspects of Iraq's trade and economic policies to assess their conformity with WTO principles.
Since the 1st Working Party meeting held in May 2007, Iraq has provided members with a legislative action plan which shows the state of play of the ongoing legal reforms. Iraq also provided information on its sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) as well as information on its domestic support and export subsidies in agriculture.
Members requested more information on Iraq's pricing policy, investment rules, import licences, customs law, state trading enterprises, regulations on tariffs, free zones and telecom licences.
Bilateral negotiations
Iraq has met with several members on the margins of the Working Party. Market access negotiations will start once Iraq tables its initial offers on goods and services. There have been some discussions but no concrete proposals for the moment.
Technical assistance
Members and international organizations have been providing technical assistance to Iraq. The Chair of the Working Party, Claudia Uribe, Ambassador for Colombia, has urged members to continue and step up this support.
Next steps
Iraq will update its legislative action plan, as appropriate, and will continue providing information to members.
Next meeting . No date was decided.
WTO.org
*also in attendance = United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Links ~
Postponement of High-Level Financing for Development Dialogue
Central Bank of Iraq's Governor, Sinan Shabibi and the United Nations ...UN Meeting Nov. 23-24 ...
