Uzbekistan's accession process to the World Trade Organization (WTO) may face further delays as some member countries are slowing down the review of Tashkent's documents. This was announced on February 17 by the president's representative on WTO issues, chief negotiator Azizbek Urunov, in a conversation with journalists. According to him, the membership deadline could extend beyond March, as certain states are currently prolonging the document verification process.

Urunov emphasized: “If the decision depended solely on Uzbekistan, we would be ready to join the organization in March. But this is not a one-sided process; there is another side to the coin. We can only join the WTO based on the decision of member countries.” He also noted that the country is obligated to accept all WTO norms, with exceptions being an integral part of the organization's agreements, each category (developed, developing, least developed) having its own conditions.

Uzbekistan had planned to complete the WTO accession process by the 14th Ministerial Conference of the organization, scheduled for March 2026. However, in December, Urunov warned of the risk of an “unexpected slowdown” in the process, as some members are sending questions that cause serious concern for Tashkent. At the beginning of the year, he stated that Uzbekistan had adopted 30 regulatory documents and prepared about 30 more, conducted bilateral negotiations with 33 out of 34 members, with only talks with Taiwan remaining.

Source: www.gazeta.uz