Acceding members source of hope for future of trading system – DDG Zhang

Entitled "High-Level Forum on the CAREC Region and the Multilateral Trading System: Deepening Integration in Central Asia and Beyond", the event was organized by the CAREC Program of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in partnership with the WTO Secretariat and opened by Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. It looked at how WTO accession has helped to drive economic reform and growth, as well as job creation in the region. 

The CAREC region is home to some of the most active WTO accession processes, said DDG Zhang, who noted the ongoing progress in the negotiations of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in particular. "The CAREC region can play a meaningful role in shaping a more inclusive and effective WTO by bringing fresh perspectives, reform-minded practices and a strong commitment to rules-based integration," he stressed. 

DDG Zhang underscored how "WTO accessions are a force for change" in the region, underlining the benefits of institution-building efforts. "The accession process drives extensive, far-reaching reforms to modernize institutions and regulatory practices, enhance the business environment and attract foreign direct investment," DDG Zhang said. 

Highlighting the tangible results of such reforms through the experiences of Georgia and Kazakhstan, DDG Zhang said: "Georgia's accession process was impressively ambitious in several ways, including in the speed of the accession negotiations - taking only four years between 1996 and 2000". He added that Georgia quickly implemented its accession commitments. According to the International Monetary Fund, Georgia's real GDP growth averaged 5.6 per cent per year from 2003 to 2023, leading the rankings in the South Caucasus and making it one of the world's fastest-growing economies, DDG Zhang noted. Georgia joined the WTO in June 2000.

 DG Zhang added: "Kazakhstan's hard-won entry after nearly two decades of negotiations is a testament to the depth and breadth of extensive domestic reforms undertaken by the country. Over the past decade, its GDP has grown by 34 per cent, industrial production grew by nearly 30 per cent, agricultural production by nearly 40 per cent and e-commerce has multiplied by 62 times," he said, citing Eurasian Economic Commission statistics. Kazakhstan joined the WTO in November 2015.

Georgia's Ambassador to the UN Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, Revaz Lominadze, said that his country's accession to the WTO "represented a deep commitment to open markets, rules-based trade and economic reform. It was a pledge to align Georgia's policies with international standards, to foster transparency and to participate actively in the global trading system."

Since joining the WTO, "Georgia has undergone a remarkable trade and economic transformation, building a more open, resilient and competitive economy and developing a trade framework that is predictable and investor-friendly," he added.

"Georgia's 25-year membership of the WTO stands as a testament to how multilateralism and national reform can go hand in hand. The WTO has been an anchor in our economic transformation and a platform for dialogue, trust and cooperation," Ambassador Lominadze said.

Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of Trade and Integration, Zhanel Kushukova, said: "Kazakhstan joining the WTO was a key stage in the country's economic integration into the global economy, confirming Kazakhstan's strategic choice to develop an open, diversified and predictable economy based on the rules and principles of the multilateral trading system."

Underlining that "WTO membership has been a strong driver of reforms in Kazakhstan," Ambassador Kushukova noted the alignment of national legislation with WTO rules in the areas of technical regulation, protection of intellectual property rights, subsidies and sanitary and phytosanitary measures. "These reforms improved economic transparency and strengthened business confidence," she said.

"WTO membership is a platform for further growth, integration and development. Kazakhstan remains an open and reliable partner, ready for dialogue, joint initiatives and mutually beneficial cooperation," Ambassador Kushukova said.

All WTO members from the CAREC region shared their experiences on how becoming WTO members has supported their economic goals by anchoring market-oriented structural and institutional reforms and attracting foreign investment. Regional integration in the CAREC region and multilateral integration through WTO accession and membership were recognized   as mutually reinforcing processes. For many CAREC economies, WTO membership has expanded their access to global markets and economic diversification efforts. The need for technical assistance and capacity-building during and after the accession process was underscored. The value of collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and other development partners was also emphasized.

"A recent study by IMF and WTO economists found that economies implementing reforms and making deeper commitments during accession negotiations grew an average of 1.5 percentage points faster than they would have otherwise," DDG Zhang said. "Beyond each acceding government's reforms, every economy that has joined the WTO since 1995 has expanded trade opportunities for existing members and contributed to the Organization's inclusiveness," he added. 

The 11 member countries comprising the CAREC Program are Afghanistan⁽¹⁾, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan and Tajikistan - which are WTO members - as well as Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - which are currently negotiating their WTO accession.

The programme can be accessed here.

More information about WTO accessions is available here.

Footnotes

1. The ADB placed its regular assistance to Afghanistan on hold effective 15 August 2021 Back to text