Pariahs long to join WTO

The MFA will renew WTO negotiations at the end of the I – beginning of the II quarter.

Belarus plans on renewing the WTO accession negotiations in March-April 2013, the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Aliaksandr Gurianau stated.

“If everything goes well, then we should meet before the end of the I quarter, at the latest – beginning of the II quarter. At the level of a working group, there are no objections or contraindications to the renewal of the negotiations on the part of the member”, - Gurianau stated at a press-conference in Minsk, Interfax reports.

The deputy minister specified that the previously established renewal terms were moved due to the change of the head of the working group on Belarus’ WTO accession. Now a new group chairman has been elected, who is the new Turkey’s representative to the World Trade Organization.

Gurianau welcomed this appointment, having emphasized that this way the working group will see the continuity of attitudes towards Belarus’ WTO membership and the conditions of its accession to the organization.

He also added that Belarus has already submitted a documents package, necessary for the renewal of the negotiation process.

We would remind that in October 2012 Lukashenka stated that the country was prepared to join the WTO and complained that the EU and US were impeding that.

They do not allow Belarus to join the WTO because there are political prisoners in the country and human rights are violated.